My Profile
Hilary
Member since: 09 March 2009
Location:
No. of Reviews: 12
Status: Connoisseur
Last Visit: 27 May 2012
Member since: 09 March 2009
Location:
No. of Reviews: 12
Status: Connoisseur
Last Visit: 27 May 2012
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62% |
Alexis Bar And GrillPosted on 27 May 2012
The restaurant was far from full & not as noisy as before. They've put up a separator which may act as a sound barrier. The menu was very different from the one online because Sunday lunch is only determined on the day by the ingredients left over from Saturday so I was told on the phone. I ordered a pork starter which turned out to be cheek from a pigs head in a small cubey form, shredded & wrapped in breadcrumbs on a small bed of mash & with a celeriac remoulade. Certainly different & okay but once is enough. My sisters caesar salad with pancetta & parmesan, my neighbours celeriac soup and companions asparagus risotto were all received very well. They brought me the wrong starter of seafood ravioli but quickly corrected it. The staff were young, nice & professional. 2 had lamb for mains, one found the helping too large & offputting & meat too tough, the other enjoyed theirs. Another enjoyed their beef though pined for more veg. My chicken tagine in a curry sauce was tasty & unusual though I found the cous cous a but tasteless and could have done with some raw onion. Desserts, which had a limited choice of 4 options, of blueberry mousse for 2 was well received, creme brulee for 1 got an okay review & I had a small sliver of lemon tart with blood orange sorbet which was okay though nothing special. Starter & desserts are small helpings, main courses plentiful. There is a beautiful outdoor seating area & stylishly designed restrooms.
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Roly's BistroPosted on 15 May 2012
The restaurant has a rarefied atmosphere upstairs; you feel you're among the business & moneyed set. The setting is nice & tables are nicely laid. You're promptly offered 4 types of bread after you take your table. I enjoyed the white bread but personally found the tomato bread a bit liquoricey. The others enjoyed theirs. My companion loved the apricot bread, no-one had the brown bread, it looked very dark. My 7UP came without the slice of lemon I requested so I had to reorder it & lemon slices both for my drink & the water were promptly delivered to the table. I ordered the prawn bisque. It was horrible; like dark dirty dish water & the prawns had been pulverised & were no-where to be seen. They give you a shot of brandy to put in it but it didn't improve the flavour. To be fair however when I later complained the concerned waitress offered me another starter. I chose the cured salmon which atleast was edible & tasty enough though I thought nothing to rave about One of my companions enjoyed the same starter & my other companion enjoyed the Thai fish cakes. 2 of us went for chicken with wild mushrooms & orzo pasta which is rather like stodgy rice. My other companion went for lamb pie which she enjoyed though it almost burnt the mouth off her. 2 choose the mixed salad to accompany it & it was beautifully presented in an edible though flavourless kind of open bag. The chicken was nice; the sauce was brown & thin, again nothing to rave about. Since I asked them to go easy on the pasta I had to wait a few minutes while my meal went cold before it was delivered to the table. It came with a couple of sliced mushrooms through it but their attentive concern kind of backfired a bit though they meant well. I wasn't mad about the desserts though there was a white chocolate & brownie cheesecake with chocolate chip ice cream which wasn't on the original menu so in desperation I choose that. The cheesecake I found a bit bland & the ice cream very dark & heavy. One companion chose the queen of puddings, the other creme brulee
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The Dropping WellPosted on 15 May 2012
I got a nice table in their lovely sunroom. Only objection I had to the decor was the tiger skin hanging from the roof. Came with the purchase of the building I believe but not very PC in this day and age depending on your prospective.
Service was quick, attentive and polite. I just went for a main course and had salmon with shrimp sauce. I asked for stuffing and extra sauce with it which they kindly gave me. The stuffing seem to be little more than breadcrumb and a binder, I've tasted nicer. The sauce was okay but I would have liked to have seen some shrimp in it rather them being pulverised into the sauce which I presume they were. The shreads of fennel that were supposed to come with it were nowhere to be seen. I got mashed & roast potatoes and the raw onion I requested instead of whatever vegetable was on. They were happy to please and tailor my meal to suit me. The meal was filling & tasty though I would have preferred the salmon served skin down rather than skin up. The mineral came at a special price of €2 with the main which was good value. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal and the surrounds. It's the sort of pub you'd enjoy even if you're not into drink.
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The Italian CornerPosted on 15 May 2012
This is a slick, modern restaurant so if you're looking for cosy Italian decor you won;t get it here. However it is nicely and sophisticatedly decorated. They have a lunch special for starter, main course and tea or coffee for €10.95 which is very good value considering the quality of food you get. You get about 5 good choices in each course and for once the online menu was the same as the actual menu thankfully. Service was attentive, polite & professional. I started off with chicken wings in tomato sauce with chilli, oregano and spring onion. It was a very tasty dish & different from the run of the mill fare you get in alot of restaurants. Same goes for the main course. I choose chicken in a pesto cream sauce with spinach accompanied by Meditteranean mash & it was delicious and very filling. Desserts are extra, I think she said €6.50 but I had no room left. I would recommend this restaurant.
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Campo de' FioriPosted on 08 April 2012
Great service & great meal. There was a €20 & a €25 menu, the 4 of us chose the latter. Nice fresh white bread was brought to the table. You eat it with olive oil, not butter in this restaurant but it really is quite nice. It is considered more authentically Italian. 2 of us had a quail starter in a fresh tomato with some olives. Din't like olives but you'd barely notice them in the sauce. Other 2 had 2 soups, minestrone was 1 of them. I think leek was the other. Everyone enjoyed their starters. For mains 2 had sea bream with tiger prawns & mussels kinda served separately on a large plate with some wine jus & broccolli with chilli. One loved the veg, the other found it too hot, personal taste. I had breast of chicken with pancetta, rocket, parmesan in a sage and butter sauce, it was delicious. Accompanying roast potatoes more like wedges were okay. Another had a ravioli dish. which they enjoyed. 2 had the desert special of milk chocolate cake with a tiramisu mousse & 2 had a ricotta cake with raisins or sultanas. Everyone thought their dessert was delicious. 10 out of 10 for an almost perfect meal with great quality ingredients, superb dishes & service. New restaurant is nice too though I felt a bit of a cold draught at my back occasionally.
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Bianconis RestaurantPosted on 11 March 2012
Went on one of those vouchers deals i.e. €60 worth of food & drink for 2 for €30. Since the 3 course set menu was €22 that left us with €16 for drinks including tea & coffee, plenty you would think since I'm a teetotaler. I asked could I also see the a la carte menu too as well as the specials set menu. The gentleman in charge explained there was a chowder & a parsnip soup. Both I & my companion interpreted that the chowder was available on the special set menu & we both went for it. It was to die for, full of delicious chunks of salmon & white fish though a tad underseasoned. It was served with 1 slice of stout bread, unusual but unlike the soup, limited. I'm a pepper freak & asked for a black pepper mill & then white pepper since both shakers on the table were salt, their mistake not mine. I sensed some audible irritation from the gentleman serving on my 2nd request for white pepper. The medallions of pork had been replaced by pork belly which I hate so I went for the lemon chicken from the limited menu. It had the taste of the Med alright but it was plain & only came with a light jus, nothing to rave about IMHO. My companion had salmon simply done & he loved it. His roast (more sauteed) & my mashed potatoes were to die for, the latter was lovely & creamy. There had been a run on the Tiramisu & there was none left for moi by 3pm which annoyed me. I went for warm lemon drizzle cake with amaretto ice cream which was gorgeous, my companion went for apple crumble with vanilla ice cream but got amaretto instead. He really enjoyed it despite the mistake in the order. On being presented with the bill it turned out we owed €9. I only had 1 mineral & tea, my companion had a glass of wine costing €6.50 with regular coffee. The voucher should have more than covered it. When I queried it the proprietor told us he had charged us from the a la carte menu as I requested. I had done nothing of the sort, I had just asked to see it & certainly wouldn't have chosen that chicken dish had I been ordering from it. Both of us w
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ZenPosted on 10 March 2012
Was greeted promptly soon as I entered the tastefully decorated lobby by a gentleman who offered to take my coat. Attentive, polite and professional but a tad too serious during the evening, a smile wouldn't go amiss. The building in restaurant had a bit of an old world architecture like it had been a church or something with its stain glass windows, mightn't be to everyones taste. The 4 of us chose from the excellent value set menu of 2 courses for €15 and 3 courses for €19. I ordered barbecued spare ribs which were nice as were one of my companions spring rolls. The waitress was excellent and smiling. Hot plates were placed on the table for the main course which were 2 duck dishes, 1 beef with black pepper sauce for moi & sweet & sour chicken with fried rice for 2. The accompanying chips for 2 were nice & beautifully presented in an upmarket takeway fashion. The flower work with carrots was nice. One negative note, there was no black pepper or mill though there waas white pepper. 3 went for the banana fritters & ice cream & I went for the coconut ice cream, they have a wide selection of ice creams & sorbets. Everyone enjoyed their desserts & the after eights with tea were a nice touch. The loos are very clean & tastefully decorated also though it would be better were the cupboard off the disabled loo were locked, just a small criticism. Overall a good value enjoyable meal with professional service & just a few small things need to be twigged.
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Gotham CafePosted on 07 March 2012
I ordered from the specials menu of two courses for €15. I started off with the chicken wings which were nice enough in themself but I didn't like the accompanying peanut sauce but that's just personal taste. I followed it by a pepperoni pizza which had some goats cheese & sundried tomatoes. It was a bit tasteless to be frank & the taste of the goats cheese didn't come through. I got half it boxed to bring home & had to add loads more toppings to give it some flavour. The service was good though the initial welcome wasn't the warmest. It's a nicely decorated restaurant.
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The Oar HousePosted on 07 March 2012
Having travelled across the city & after enduring horrendous rain to sample the smokies imagine my consternation to find, due to costing reasons, the menu had been changed the day before & the smokies were no longer on the menu. I was prepared to walk out but I asked the lovely waitress would the chef prepare it for me. She consulted him & he had the ingredients so he prepared it for me anyway & it was a dish to die for. I started off with the chowder which was very nice also. The white accompanying bread was nice but I found the brown bread a bit tasteless. There was plenty of it & butter which filled me up & I was offered more. The restaurant is nicely decorated with a nautical feel though the fact it was a bit emply took away from the atmosphere but it is a nice setting. Be aware if you're looking online that the menu may not be correct since as of yet it hasn't been updated. They have a fairly extensive specials board. The waitress also kindly wrote out the smokies recipe for me to take home. Pity due to operational reasons, which the lovely waitress explained to me about in detail, that this lovely dish had to be removed from the menu.
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Sean Mac D'sPosted on 23 December 2011
Menu had been changed from what I read online & most of what I liked had been taken off. Started with ham hock & black pudding terrine, hated it & it smelt worse. Companions had parsnip soup, loved it. Good brown bread & presentation. Excellent young waitress, couldn't have been nicer & more more helpful, shame the food didn't match.. Rib Eye steak was on menu & I was told this was a thick steak (though don't know if this was true) which I don't like so I opten for steak & onion sandwich instead. It was horrible, no onions, batch loaf bread smeared with mayonnaise and a few tiny slivers of beef & some salad though chips were OK. Companions had lamb, thought it was a faitrly okay dish. Desserts of bread & butter pudding with caramel sauce & ice cream were nice enough just as well or I would have starved. Place lacked ambience, like working mans pub. Won't return, voucher or no voucher. Was sold this deal on the basis of menu & local location, the former reason turned out to be a total farce. Worst meal I've had out in a long time.
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Camden KitchenPosted on 27 July 2010
Dined there today. Had the goat's cheese croquettes which were gorgeous. They eventually gave me some bread with my meal unrequested which was a nice touch & fills you up even if it did come a bit late. Unfortunately bathrooms involved a steep climb upstairs (downstairs area is quite small) and the soap dispenser fell off the wall which gave me a fright. One of the chefs, I think, very kindly came over & gave me a detailed and very personal explanation of the 3 dishes I was interested in so I could make an informed choice. Said I wasn't much into lettuce so to take it easy on it & could I have some raw onion instead. They didn't oblige as some restaurants do so perhaps they had none in stock. Its these little touches that matter. They accidentally added service charge to my bill which the polite & well trained waiter said was a mistake & then cheekily asked did I require any change from €20 for a bill that came to €9.50! No matter how polite & well trained he was it wasn't worth that. Didn't like that & it took away a bit from the experience, smelt of opportunism. I rounded it up to €10 for a very pleasant meal.
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l'Ecrivain RestaurantPosted on 18 March 2009
I dined from the set menu, thought it was awful. First they gave me the wrong menu. The limited choice of lamb that I wanted or cod was replaced by corn beef on the correct menu. Starters were Ham hock (i.e. cheap cuts) terrine or broccoli soup & only one dessert with 3 components.
Service was slow, they couldn't care less that I left most of my main course though they didn't charge me the €4's for the tea. The sorbet had a sour flavour though the little square of lemon cake was nice, I found the chocolate square very heavy. To switch to the A la carte menu meant one main would cost the same or more than the 3 courses from the set menu, maybe that's the idea. We had to request a second slice of bread, my companion raved about the brown bread, I thought it was OK. She drank only half her soup. Much a do about nothing if you ask me. I won't be going here again:(
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