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Simply Italian, 15-18 East Parade, Hastings, TN34 3AL

Simply Italian, 15-18 East Parade, Hastings, TN34 3AL

15-18 East Parade, Hastings, TN34 3AL

Bracing winds and intermittent rain lash the seafront at Hastings on an in-between-Christmas-and-New-Year family excursion. The crushing disappointment that the fairground rides are closed and the increasingly desperate and ultimately fruitless search for an open fish and chip shop led us to this Italian bistro on the East Parade.

We piled into a booth, kids warned to avoid the expensive chef's specials - there's seven of us for chrissakes - and a variety of pizza and pasta appeared much as we expected. My middle son kept asking for his four cheese pizza to come without mushrooms, but, you guessed it, it did. Some discussion about the desserts on the blackboard was negated because "no sir - they're all off".

By m at 08/01/2008 - 12:00 | 2008 | Approved | East Sussex | Families | Italian | Large Groups | Review | £££/$$$ | add new comment | read more | 123 reads

The Brilliant, 72 Western Road, Southall Middlesex

The Brilliant, 72 Western Road, Southall Middlesex

72 Western Road, Southall Middlesex

The Brilliant has been a Southall fixture for over 30 years, and I have been coming here regularly for fifteen of these. It aims to do traditional, family style Punjabi cooking in a restaurant setting. Recently the influence of the owner's daughter has added a number of "healthy options", where there is less use made of ghee.

The strengths are in the main course curries and in several of the starters. For example Methi chicken has tender chicken in a rich, spicy sauce with fenugreek. On the starters, aloo tikki is a dish you only seem to see n Southall: chickpeas, tamarind, yogurt and coriander, which work well as a combination. The chicken starter dishes are excellent e.g. methi chicken (cumin) or malai chicken tikka, or butter chicken if you don't mind the calories. The naans are OK but no more that than, but the romali roti is excellent. Vegetable dishes could do with a being cooked a fraction less to retain more texture, though aloo chollay (mainly chickpeas with a few pieces of potato) works well. They actually make the desserts here, including excellent kulfi and halwa. It is very much a family atmosphere, with groups of ten or more commonplace.

By wyahaw at 20/08/2007 - 11:01 | 2007 | Families | Indian | London | Middlesex | OK | Outskirts | Review | West | ££/$$ | add new comment | read more | 160 reads

Restaurante Avenida, Centro Commercial Gilao, Av.Dr Mateus Teixeira de Azevedo, Loja 6,8800-379 TAVIRA, Algarve, Portugal

Restaurante Avenida, Centro Commercial Gilao, Av.Dr Mateus Teixeira de Azevedo, Loja 6,8800-379 TAVIRA, Algarve, Portugal

Centro Commercial Gilao, Av.Dr Mateus Teixeira de Azevedo, Loja 6,8800-379 TAVIRA

Forget celeb chefs, drizzles, liquid nitrogen foams and food stacks, traditional food still exists, thank goodness in many places in Portugal. Tavira is a "real" town on a river in the Eastern Algarve. An old fishing port(tuna) where the local cuisine reflects the riches of the Atlantic.

This restaurant which has been there forever is run by Joao Pereira and his little team of cooks(yes lady cooks -not poncy chefs) who you can see frying and boiling and grilling in the tiny kitchen area.

By landau1945 at 20/07/2007 - 22:07 | 2007 | Approved | Families | Other European | Portugal | Review | ££/$$ | add new comment | read more | 86 reads

Frankie and Benny, Unit 4, Shepherds Hill, Reading, RG6 1BB

Frankie and Benny, Unit 4, Shepherds Hill, Reading, RG6 1BB

Unit 4, Shepherds Hill, Reading, RG6 1BB

This restaurant has recently opened in a convenient location on the A4 heading out of Reading to the East. The restaurant has an inviting frontage and adequate parking. In line with this chain’s style, the restaurant is decked out to mimic a US diner, which is friendly and informal.

We ordered a starter of crispy chicken strips at £4.75. Thinking that the quantities would follow the US style also, we decided to share this one between two. Big mistake. The dish arrived after 20 minutes wait as 2 piece of reconstituted chicken in breadcrumbs on a bed of dead iceberg lettuce with a hint of some kind of mayonnaise dressing. The taste was poor and the presentation was well below ‘Little Chef’ level.

By aubreyn at 23/06/2007 - 14:42 | 2007 | Berkshire | Families | Mexican/North American | Rejected | Review | £££/$$$ | add new comment | read more | 234 reads

Ned's Country Pizza, 74 Bridge Street, Benalla, NSW, Australia

Ned's Country Pizza, 74 Bridge Street, Benalla, NSW, Australia

74 Bridge Street, Benalla, NSW

Benalla is where Ned Kelly's gang hung out, and very near the town where they had their final shootout. He's celebrated as a tourist attraction in these parts, and almost every outfit refers to him in some way. Hence the name of this establishment. Everybody said Georgina's was the best food in town, but on the door were two notices. The first said "Open Seven Days" and the second said "Closed" Perhaps our visit was not on any of the seven days it was open. So we went a few doors along to Ned's, with little hope, frankly. It's run by a single mum and her teenage son - about 14 I reckon. She bought a franchise, but has also started making and selling her own range of gourmet pizzas, and we each chose one of these, with a side salad. It was one of the best pizzas we have ever eaten, great big prawns and scallops on one, lots of chicken and veg on the other, light pizza dough, crispy base. Side salad of rocket and spinach could not have been fresher. She was also dashing next door, selling take away pizzas. Forget Georgina's, if you ever visit Ned Kelly country, this woman deserves your business. And not expensive, either.

By Daisy Middleton at 03/01/2007 - 02:06 | 2006 | Approved | Australia | Families | Italian | Review | ££/$$ | add new comment | read more | 82 reads

Rising Sun Hotel, 84-86 Barnard St, Bendigo 3550 VIC Australia

Rising Sun Hotel, 84-86 Barnard St, Bendigo 3550 VIC Australia

84-86 Barnard St, Bendigo 3550 VIC Australia

This keeps happening to us on this trip. We land in a town, everyone tells us the best place to eat and we can't get in. Either the best place is full, as in Vincentia, or it is suddenly and unaccountably closed as soon as we hit town. So we go to some unpromising and unpretentious place, with no great hopes and end up having a wonderful meal.

On our first night in Bendigo "The Bridge" was suddenly and unaccountably closed, so we ended up at the Rising Sun Hotel, which is what in Britain we'd call a pub. You order and pay at a counter, they give you a table number, you get drinks from the bar and they bring your dinner.

By Daisy Middleton at 19/12/2006 - 10:32 | 2006 | Approved | Australia | Families | Pub | Review | £££/$$$ | add new comment | read more | 89 reads
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