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The True Heart Inn High Street Bishopstone Swindon SN6 8PH

The True Heart Inn High Street Bishopstone Swindon SN6 8PH

High Street Bishopstone Swindon SN6 8PH

It was only when we came to order that we were told that much of the menu was unavailable – pity they didn’t tell us when we ‘phoned to book. Only my 5th choice was available. We were told that they had no steaks but we then overheard the chef/owner offer rump steak to a local – a touch of rationing, I suspect. The treacle roly-poly was rock hard (probably over microwaved). The coffee machine wasn’t working and we were offered instant coffee but at the same price as the decent filter machine price. To finish the evening off an ‘extra’ bottle of wine appeared on my bill that we hadn’t had. Would I go there again? NO

By Stratton Spy at 14/04/2008 - 12:40 | 2008 | Pub | Rejected | Review | Wiltshire | £££/$$$ | add new comment | read more | 110 reads

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

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

Butterfly Lane, Elstree, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire WD6 3AD

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.

By Daisy Middleton at 01/04/2008 - 10:36 | 2008 | Herts | Pub | Rejected | Review | ££££/$$$$ | add new comment | read more | 254 reads

Ristorante Maffei, Piazza Erbe 38, Verona, Italy.

Ristorante Maffei, Piazza Erbe 38, Verona, Italy.

Piazza Erbe 38, Verona, Italy.

I booked the Maffei some months in advance, as part of a trip to Verona to celebrate my wife’s birthday. The online booking system worked well and the web site gave a lot of information with regards to menus, wines and historic location.

The restaurant premises are quite spectacular, being housed in a magnificent palatial building. We were greeted by very friendly staff and shown to our table, as well as ourselves, there was only one other couple in the restaurant, despite this being 9pm on a Friday night. I confess that the alarm bells did start to ring.

By Uxbridgecouple at 26/03/2008 - 15:07 | 2008 | Italian | Italy | Rejected | Review | Views | ££££/$$$$ | add new comment | read more | 182 reads

Palm Kerala 49, Grosvenor Road, Tunbidge Wells, Kent, TN1 2AY

Palm Kerala 49, Grosvenor Road, Tunbidge Wells, Kent, TN1 2AY

49, Grosvenor Road, Tunbidge Wells, Kent, TN1 2AY

Kerala is just about alive in Tunbridge Wells but at a cost.... McDosa was a marvel: great food at a low price albeit with random service and somewhat dodgy surroundings. The revamped and sold on version still has some great Keralan specialities like parripu vadai and dosas but now costs far more with possibly even more random service.

In the McDosa days you could get more top quality South Indian specilaties than you could possibly eat and a decent dose of Cobra and wine for about £30. Now prices have risen and apart from a more even coat of grey paint on the walls there is little on the plus side to explain the 25-35% increase in price. The food is generally okay but £6.25 for a small quantity of some shop bought paneer and peas as a main course is about £3 too much. They also advertise the chutneys as a speciality but failed to deliver, returning only some Patak-style lime pickle instead of the promised lemon pickle (which is so easy to make in advance) and home made mango chutney. This came with achappam which was more akin to stamped on sugary square hula hoops than the flower shaped crunch that I remember from the delights of Rasa on Church St. N16.

By eastender at 26/03/2008 - 10:35 | 2008 | Indian | Kent | Rejected | Review | ££££/$$$$ | add new comment | read more | 85 reads

Wild Honey, 12, St. George St, London, W1S 2FB

Wild Honey, 12, St. George St, London, W1S 2FB

12, St. George St, London, W1S 2FB

Well I'll start by saying a very big 'Sorry' to Jim. It was my friends birthday celebration, and I talked him out of going to Langans (which has less than favourable reviews - food is naff and it's all a bit 'old boys club' for me - plus once told 'footballers eat there', I was convinced to avoid it like the plague) to go to much talked about Wild Honey, in London's Mayfair. It had, incidentally, just won a Michelin star and I was very anxious to try it out. Unfortunately, the only thing it had in common with Michelin is that it left me 'tyred'.

By admin at 06/02/2008 - 10:45 | 2008 | Central/West End | London | Modern British | Rejected | Review | ££££/$$$$ | add new comment | read more | 149 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 | 112 reads
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