Restaurant Spy - England

Relish, 28 Camden Rd, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN12PT

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:11:54 +0000

Address:
28 Camden Rd, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN12PT

Review:

Relish is one of those places that doesn’t do what is says it does on the tin.

The tin says that you will get a hearty wholemeal type, organic, free range massive breakfast with proper cooked mushrooms and tomatoes from the ground not the tin. What you get is anaemic food and lacklustre service.

Red asked for a bacon sandwich on white. “Do you want warm bacon?” the waitress asked. Red, with incredulous look on her face, replied, “Yes”. How else would you serve it?
“Butter?”
“Uhm… yes!” We should have left at this point.

Signor Franco's, 5a, High St Tunbridge Wells Kent TN1 1UL

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:41:52 +0000

Address:
5a, High St Tunbridge Wells Kent TN1 1UL

Review:

Signor Franco's is rather much an institution in Tunbridge Wells,with a reputation to suit and having lived in this hallowed town for so long and not sampled their culinery delights was quite simply unacceptable.

So on a delightful Monday evening we decided to pay them a visit and to say they live up to their repution would be a safe statement to make.

Even initial contact was a pleasure, with the booking procedure being nothing but a pleasant experience with a polite friendly person on the other end. My flatmate and I were greeted well and promptly taken to our table which had wonderful views of tunbridge wells and had a wonderful ambience to the whole establishment.

Exceline Restaurant, 175 Mare Street, Hackney, London E8 3RH

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 11:19:48 +0000

Address:
175 Mare Street, Hackney, London E8 3RH

Review:

I've eaten here twice. The first time my Ugandan friend brought me because we wanted East African food and she recommended this place. The parking is lousy, but that's not the restaurant's fault - the little side street of Hackney look like a cruising spot for twocers, and I was nervous about leaving my nice little car there.

Anyway, once in the restaurant, the owners were nice to us, and soon brought us Tusker beers, which made me forget about my car. My friend had lots of meaty things and I had tilapia fish. We had little samosa starters, and we ordered the African beans in rich tomato sauce as well. The portions were generous. It wasn't long before I couldn't move, and was forced to drink another beer. Overall very enjoyable, and afterwards my car was just where I'd left it.

The Sea Cow, 67 Stoke Newington Church Street, London N16 0AR

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:48:30 +0000

Address:
67 Stoke Newington Church Street, London N16 0AR

Review:

I commute, and on the nights when I drive I need some time to eat or have a drink until rush hour traffic clears enough to allow me out of the city. So I look for inexpensive places with decent wine that aren't packed in the early evening. (In the same situation? Post some reviews - there must be lots of us who need ideas for quiet places in N/E/S London to wait out the evening rush hour.) I read or write until the food comes so I pick restaurants with enough light to see by. Being single I avoid places packed with couples (so's I don't feel too envious) and it's cool if there are a few attractive fellow diners to glance at occasionally.

Hatters Bar and Restaurant, The Pheasant, Ballinger Common, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire HP16 9LF

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 23:34:47 +0000

Address:
The Pheasant, Ballinger Common, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire HP16 9LF

Review:

Jane King used to be a milliner. She was a very successful milliner, her hats ended up in the big West End stores and she had reached the top, millinerally speaking. So she looked for fresh challenges and new worlds to conquer. She decided to open a restaurant and, I'm pleased to report, she's gone and done it again! Perhaps she could try a political career next and sort the country out. But not just yet - I hope the Hatters Bar is around for a quite some time.

George and Dragon, High Street Chipstead Nr Sevenoaks Kent

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 08:28:05 +0000

Address:
High Street Chipstead Nr Sevenoaks Kent

Review:

Take a packed lunch, pair of ear plugs and your sleeping bag.
Love a bit of live music, but 6 of us went for a meal and a natter on a saturday night, and the raucous sing-a-long with the folk musician drowned out all possible conversation eventually!

The other major problem was the incredible wait for food. We were booked in at 8.15, 4 meember of the party received their main course at 10.00, the other 2 were told the chef had dropped their food, which then turned up 20 minutes later, by which time a packet of crisps and a pickled egg would have gone down a treat.

El Torero Spanish Restaurant, The Side, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1PR

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 20:30:17 +0000

Address:
The Side, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1PR

Review:

El Torero, The Side, NE1 1PR tel 0191 233 1122

Friends had told us that we might have to wait for a table at El Torero the Spanish Tapas Restaurant if we called in on a Friday night. Although it appeared busy, we were ushered to a table immediately when we arrived at about 7.40pm. By the time we moved to the bar after 9.00pm the place was full and diners who had not booked were being advised that they might have to wait over 30 minutes for a table. Most appeared quite happy because they were going to get a table and it would give them the opportunity to soak up the atmosphere and people watch whist they waited in the bar. It is so interesting to see people come in off a cold street into a warm vibrant restaurant with the staff fussing round them. It adds to the atmosphere to hear the Spanish language being used at a high volume and fast rate as drinks are ordered and tables prepared by the mainly Spanish staff. There were large parties, couples and family groups all seemingly having a great time.

Maharaja, 58, Tettenhall Road, Wolverhampton, WV1 4SL

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 22:17:18 +0000

Address:
58, Tettenhall Road, Wolverhampton, WV1 4SL

Review:

The Maharaja on the Tettenhall Road, Wolverhampton has a very traditional name for an English Indian restaurant, and like the traditional English Indian restaurant, it is run by Bangladeshis. Unlike many traditional English Indian restaurants it is possible to get Bangladeshi food.

I visited Bangladesh a few years ago and as non-meat eater I had pretty much the same meal for every day of my three weeks there. At the time I was heartily sick of it, but since I’ve been in Britain, I’ve been looking for a repeat of that cullinary experience.

Yo Sushi, 6-7 Jubilee Street, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1GE

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 20:44:01 +0000

Address:
6-7 Jubilee Street, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1GE

Review:

Dear oh dear oh bloody dear. I was going to say something worse but I didn’t because I am prone to not swearing in front of people I don’t know.

Young J and I went at his command to Yo! Sushi because his mum was at some important exhibition of crapshit in Birmingham. Yo! sushi is a con, insofar as it sells things called Yo! Paella, and Yo! Salad Nicoise, is staffed mainly by poles (the country not the sticks) and is just really not at all Japanese.

McCoys Rooftop Restaurant, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 21:29:19 +0000

Address:
Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Quays, South Shore Road, Gateshead, NE8 3BA

Review:

The view is fantastic from this top-floor restaurant.

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 Mill Race Inn, Walford, Ross on Wye

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 18:46:49 +0000

Address:
Walford Ross on Wye Herefordshire HR9 5QS

Review:

The Mill Race, Walford, Ross on Wye describes itself as offering 'fine dining'. Unfortunately this was not my experience. First impressions were promising, elegant, tasteful interior and stylish furniture.

Surprisingly, as far as I could see, we were the only people eating. Hmmm... I wondered why, but gazing at the sign hanging outside, promising 'Fine dining, wines and ales', I wondered if the rush was over and still hoped for an appetising experience.

Sherborne Arms, Market Place, Northleach, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL54 3EE

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 10:30:47 +0000

Address:
Market Place, Northleach, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL54 3EE

Review:

After an exhausting two and a half hour ride from Kent, we stopped by for lunch at the Sherborne Arms, in the pretty little town of Northleach in the Cotswolds. Northleach is not one of the better known Cotswold tourist spots, like Broadway, Stow or Bourton on the Water, but it has a charming market square, a smattering of attractive ivy-covered pubs, and a 13th Century church to boot.

The Sherborne is bang on the Market Square and, on the day we went, fairly popular, as the bar was heaving with people drinking, eating and, er, more drinking. We sat with our junior agents in the bar area, across from a man with a d.a. and another man who appeared to be asleep with a full pint of lager in front of him.

Mediterranean Restaurant, Turks Head, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire

Wed, 02 Aug 2006 17:19:41 +0000

Address:
147 Worcester Road, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire

Review:

The back room of a modest pub on the Worcester road has becone for the last 3 months or so a rather fine Mediterranean restaurant. Very clean , with attentive service. I selected a Mediterranean Salad (feta cheese, cherry tomatoes etc) in a spicy dressing, my wife had very creamy garlic mushrooms. I had Monkfish for main, beatifully cooked and presented, with seasonal vegetables. My wife had esacalope of chicken topped with cheese. The menu is brief, and not overly Mediterranean, several steak dishes, no Pasta, but certainly worth return visit. Not cheap - with one bottle of Chilean white wine £42 - but faultless really. Highly recommended.

The Ram Inn, Firle, Nr Lewes, East Sussex BN8 6NS

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 12:41:15 +0000

Address:
Firle, Nr Lewes, East Sussex BN8 6NS

Review:

Three friends and I visited The Ram at Firle on Saturday (29th July) for lunch on the way to see Fidelio at Glyndebourne. The "new management" are delightful people and the food was truly excellent - beautifully cooked and presented and lots of it. We started with grilled sardines in lemon oil, three large ones per portion, served with chiabatta and dipping oils and the grilled halumi and asparagus was a success too. We all had the home cooked ham hock with new potatoes, which was stunning. The meal came to £55 for 4, excluding drinks - good wine list. No plastic menus, helpful and pleasant staff. We sat in the shady garden to eat and had our coffee (they know exactly how a double espresso macchiato should be) inside sitting in comfy wing chairs.