Restaurant Spy - Herts

The Battle Axes, Butterfly Lane, Elstree, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire WD6 3AD

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:36:58 +0000

Address:
Butterfly Lane, Elstree, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire WD6 3AD

Review:

About 20 family members assembled for a pub lunch at the Battle Axes on Good Friday. The food was OK, but very overpriced for what it was. Sirloin Steak, one grilled mushroom, two deep fried onion rings from a frozen catering pack, half a tomato and chips – almost £14. Service was sweet but slow and wrong: my crab soup was announced as “red pepper soup” and placed before L, while his red pepper soup was announced as “crab” and given to me. You could tell what they were by the colour and smell, but the staff’s English wasn’t up to it. There was quite a lot of this. The décor is shabby: the garlands of dried flowers overhead had been there for a few years, had turned to dust and doubtless been commandeered for insect overspill housing – so you have to keep an eye on any food directly below it, in case of falling bodies.

A Touch of Novelli, The White Horse, Hatching Green, Harpenden, Hertfordshire.

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 19:10:17 +0000

Address:
Hatching Green, Harpenden, Hertfordshire.

Review:

Recently Jean-Christophe Novelli’s new ‘gastro-pub’ opened at the White Horse in Harpenden to great acclaim! Although excited, we waited for the first furore and the ‘booked-up-ness’ to die down somewhat before venturing for an early evening meal on the terrace. Although the terrace setting was divine and the menu printed on a block of solid wood, the choices were disappointingly limited. My wife chose a grilled rib-eye steak for the main course and I chose the king prawns. Both dishes arrived in good time but again were disappointing. The fried prawns appeared to have been thrown on the plate with no garnish and not even lemon for an accompaniment. My wife took a taste of her large lump of rib-eye, grimaced and whispered in my ear, “It tastes of liver, darling!” I tasted it and agreed, revolting. “Send it back! You’re paying good money for this!” Mortified, she hates making a fuss, she summoned the waiter. Trying not to let the other diners hear, she whispered the problem again. The delightful waiter completely understood her embarrassment and rushed off to get another steak. He returned with news from the chef, the interesting flavour of the steak was due to an extra long ‘hanging’ period – 42 days! I nearly fell off my chair, crikey, the steak would be walking out of the fridge if hung for that long, and what about the strong liver taste?! Anyway another steak arrived, still somewhat ‘livery’, but she soldiered on, ate the lot, but still rather embarrassed. In spite of the disappointing nature of the food, perhaps it was an off-day, the waiting staff were absolutely charming and couldn’t have been more helpful. If there is a touch of anything at Novelli’s new gastro-pub, it’s a touch of class on the part of the waiters!

The White Hart Hotel, Welwyn, Hertfordshire

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 11:04:41 +0000

Address:
Prospect Place, Welwyn, Hertfordshire AL6 9EN

Review:

Welwyn should not be confused with Welwyn Garden City, which is larger, not as pretty and does not have that many pubs in it. Welwyn is a very picturesque village just off the A1 and boasts several fine pubs. The A1 used to be known as the Great North Rd and coaches would thunder up it, stopping at coaching inns on the way to change horses and have a swift half. The White Hart is one of those magnificent coaching inns and is very well preserved. It has an interesting history and its upper rooms were once used, among other things, as a courthouse.

De Ja Vu, 33b Kemp Pl, Bushey, Herts WD23 1DW

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 15:03:31 +0000

Address:
33b Kemp Pl, Bushey WD23 1DW

Review:

If you live near Bushey in Hertfordshire and were thinking of going out for a nice Indian meal, I would advise you to avoid De Ja Vu.

I eat out regularly and rarely do I complain about the establishment...... however, my dear friend booked it for her birthday party - she left totally destroyed by the experience.

The Atmosphere?

If you like screaming to your neighbour to make yourself heard above the din of some cheap Elvis impersonator, and enjoy being yelled at by some looney employed to get you on the dancefloor, be my guest. There was no joy from the air-conditioning and we dripped our way through the roasting heat desperately trying to support our birthday girl friend and not make a fuss. It was sheer torture.

The White Horse, Hatching Green, Harpenden, Herts

Wed, 03 May 2006 13:47:44 +0000

Address:
Hatching Green, Harpenden, Herts

Review:

We took our good friends for a birthday celebration with a touch of Novelli but were sadly disappointed. The restaurant is pleasant enough with a good ambience and the service was friendly and effcient. The food was passable with some good dishes but the main of slow cooked oxtail tasted bland and over cooked, it came up as a gelatinous lump in a small bowl with a few peas scattered on top. I thought it was possibly a leftover dish which had been served by mistake. The special was rotisserie pork but it was more like a slice taken from a catering pack, it was barely warm and certainly hadn't been near a rotisserie on that day! So three out of four mains disappointing. You may think I'm being picky but if a michelin starred chef puts his name/touch/handprint to a restuarant you do expect a certain standard.

Crown Post, 43-45 Hockerill Street Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire

Sat, 08 Apr 2006 17:01:14 +0000

Address:
The Crown Post 43-45 Hockerill Street Bishop's Stortford

Review:
I wish I had read the previous review before going to this terible place.! We booked a table, and I thought it strange a chinese man answered the phone at an Italian restaraunt. But unbowed we went along. What a hilarious event. The place was empty on a Friday night. Just us. The food was mediocre/ terrible to say the least. Bland salad, Soggy pasta and a horrible tasting cannaloni. The whole event was like Fawlty Towers.

Sea Master, 137 Uxbridge Road, Rickmansworth Herts WD3 7DW

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 11:38:08 +0000

Address:
137 Uxbridge Road, Rickmansworth Herts WD3 7DW

Review:

I have made numerous visits to this Fish & Chip shop, and I can tell you that it is truly amazing food. I haven't eaten cod for years as the quality has been so low it is not worth eating, but all that changed when I tried Sea Master's cod and chips. The fish was beautiful, succulent, moist and of very generous portion. The chips too I would go as far as to say were the best I have ever had. I am not just making a song and dance for nothing, I have eaten in some of Londons top restaurants, but food at this reasonable price is incredible. The food doesn't stop there either.

Carluccios, 7-8 Christophers Place St Albans Hertfordshire AL3 5DQ