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2007

The Spring Hill, 312a Spring Hill, Warstones Rd, Penn, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV4 4LB


312a Spring Hill, Warstones Rd, Penn, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV4 4LB

The food was simply delicious, the best meal out I've had in months. I had the grilled sea bass, with sauteed potatoes, which tasted fantastic, and the creamed leeks/creamed spring onions (I couldn't work out which) set it off perfectly. If you like seafood - visiting here is a must. There must have been 10 fresh fish dishes on the menu, ranging from sea bass, to barramundi, and crab. Non-fish included the usual steak fare, coq-au-vin, a number of vegetarian options. The place is very well decorated with a very rustic feel.

By richieh at 12/12/2007 - 02:12 | 2007 | Article | Modern British | OK | Service | Worcs | £££/$$$ | add new comment | read more | 54 reads

Le Vivier, 6 rue Dominic Maisto, 13200 Arles, Provence, France

Le Vivier, 6 rue Dominic Maisto, 13200 Arles, Provence, France

6 rue Dominic Maisto, 13200 Arles, Provence, France

This was near our hotel and looked really promising. The interior was quite shabby, the seats on the chairs had “gone” (not literally) and it had not been redecorated for some time, but this need not be a bad sign in a French restaurant. The food is the thing and the menu looked excellent. We went for the €25 menu: my soupe de poissons had been diluted once too often and was very watery, but came with the traditional croutons, aoli, grated cheese and garlic. L started with foi gras with lavender bread and lavender ice cream, and while it sounds a bit unlikely, it was actually the star of the meal. When did you last have ice cream and foi gras on the same plate? My main course of fish gratinée was nice enough, but it was a tiny portion, and no bread or vegetables accompanied it. L had a variety of grilled fish, well presented, but some were overcooked. My dessert - chocolat crème – tasted OK, but the presentation was complicated and didn’t really come off as the pudd slid dangerously around the plate on its way to the table, dislodging some of the fruit garnish. Of L’s plate of four cheeses, two were very salty, and he had to ask for bread as no biscuits or bread came with it.

By Daisy Middleton at 29/11/2007 - 16:44 | 2007 | France | French | OK | Review | ££/$$ | add new comment | read more | 109 reads

Unicorn Inn, Excise Street, Kincardine, Scotland

Unicorn Inn, Excise Street, Kincardine, Scotland

Excise Street, Kincardine

We ate on a Wednesday evening under a newspaper promotion: 2 courses plus a glass of wine for £10 each.

What should have been an opportunity for the restaurant to showcase their wares turned out to be an exercise in short-sighted penny-pinching. Most of the food was good, although the pate seemed to be plastic stuff from a supermarket, while the sea bass was fantastic. These two cancelled each other out, then.

By FifeFoodie at 23/11/2007 - 14:44 | 2007 | Ambience | Mediterranean | Rejected | Review | Scotland | £££/$$$ | add new comment | read more | 133 reads

The Edmund Tylney, 30–34 High Street, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8AW

The Edmund Tylney, 30–34 High Street, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8AW

30–34 High Street, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8AW

I had the unfortunate experience of eating at the Wetherspoons in Leatherhead recently. While the prices were typically inexpensive, the food and the service can only be described as cheap.

I first started to feel uneasy when, after ordering, my food arrived at my chosen table before I did. There is a not-so-fine line between quick service and reheating a cold dish. Not wanting to add to the rather awkward atmosphere that this created, I accepted the meal. After realising that ‘dilapidated’ is actually an adjective one can use in conjunction with ‘jacket potato’, I pushed my food around my plate for a while and reasoned that it was too cheap to complain about, besides, the whole meal cost what the free glass of wine costs in some bars.

By Wox at 06/11/2007 - 12:18 | 2007 | Disabled Access | Pub | Rejected | Review | Surrey | ££/$$ | add new comment | read more | 118 reads

Au Tout Petit, 4, rue d'Amphoux, 84000 Avignon, France

Au Tout Petit, 4, rue d'Amphoux, 84000 Avignon, France

4, rue d'Amphoux, 84000 Avignon

We didn't book, and they were full when we arrived, so with regret we walked away. But the man ran after us and said come back in five minutes and we'll have a table for you. We did, and they did !

I had La Trilogie autour des champignons d’automne en poêlée, soupe et glace (cèpes) which was a pungent mushroom soup, a bowl of sauteed wild mushrooms with - I think - marjoram, and ... mushroom ice cream! It all comes together on a tray, and oddly enough, it works. L had trout with almonds, mushrooms (it's that time of year), mange tout and barley, which he really enjoyed.

By Daisy Middleton at 29/10/2007 - 22:13 | 2007 | Approved | France | French | Review | Service | ££/$$ | add new comment | read more | 94 reads

La Tomate, 6, Rue Four des Flammes, 34000 Montpellier, France

La Tomate, 6, Rue Four des Flammes, 34000 Montpellier, France

6, Rue Four des Flammes, 34000 Montpellier, France

We tried to get into this place three years ago, at the height of the holiday season and with no reservation. Fat chance. Back in Montpellier again in early October, we took the precaution of booking, though it was probably unnecessary. It looks exactly like a restaurant in the Languedoc should - I’m a sucker for a red checked tablecloth, me. The waiter brought a bottle of chilled tap water immediately, none of that paying extra for bottled water nonsense. The back of the menu has a la carte, but the front has a range of fixed price menus. The €16.90 caught our eyes, and although there were five courses, for that price we felt confident that the portions would be small, more like a tasting menu, really. Hah!

By Daisy Middleton at 29/10/2007 - 20:11 | 2007 | Approved | France | French | Review | Romantic | ££/$$ | add new comment | read more | 48 reads
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