Soldato
I've been to Rolling Smoke, some of the best BBQ I have ever had!
What Restaurant did you eat at last night?
- Thread starter physichull
- Start date
Soldato
I found the quality and flavour just spot on. Fish pie mmmm... souffle I could just dive it.
Following molinari's review I went to The Bull on Thursday, the girlfriend has been to Hawksmoor before so I thought we'd go somewhere else.
I had the grilled veal sweetbreads to start which were lovely and she had the grilled provoleta following the recommendation from the waiter. For main I had the peppered ribeye which was fantastic.
My girlfriend went for the rump but it was pretty chewy. She told the waiter, he took it away and and they cooked her a new steak with fresh sides as well. The waiter tried her first one too and agreed with her and couldn't have been more apologetic. For sides we had the sweet potato chips, spinach and sautéed mushrooms and a bottle of the Ancon Malbec to go with it.
Not a bad selection of Meantime beers on the menu either if you don't like wine.
The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and were happy to explain all the different steaks on the menu. Would definitely go back again without a doubt!
I had the grilled veal sweetbreads to start which were lovely and she had the grilled provoleta following the recommendation from the waiter. For main I had the peppered ribeye which was fantastic.
My girlfriend went for the rump but it was pretty chewy. She told the waiter, he took it away and and they cooked her a new steak with fresh sides as well. The waiter tried her first one too and agreed with her and couldn't have been more apologetic. For sides we had the sweet potato chips, spinach and sautéed mushrooms and a bottle of the Ancon Malbec to go with it.
Not a bad selection of Meantime beers on the menu either if you don't like wine.
The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and were happy to explain all the different steaks on the menu. Would definitely go back again without a doubt!
Glad you enjoyed it, I'm going back again soon. To compare, I was taken to Gaucho for lunch recently. I haven't been to a Gaucho for a year or so, and I wasn't impressed last time. I went for the 300g fillet steak. The steak was undercooked, very rare in the middle. This wouldn't normally be an issue but I have just been in hospital with stomach problems and wasn't sure if this would be too rare or not. I ate it though, and it was ok. My wife went for the selection of 3 steaks (fillet, sirloin & rump), 100g each. They were overcooked and didn't have much flavour, and one piece of the rump I tried, I couldn't eat. I chewed it for about a minute, and it was just too tough, I had to spit it out
.To me, it does appear that Gaucho really has gone down hill over the last few years.
Had dinner last night at Fino, a Spanish tapas place at the Rotunda in Glasgow. Was a really good meal.
I had 3 tapas dishes. A finely textured pork and foie gras pate infused with Fino sherry, served with crispy bread with herbs. A crispy filo parcel with a beef stew filling, served with sweet potato mash. And A classic Spanish rice dish with chicken, pork and vegetables flavoured with saffron. And for dessert I had Sautéed pineapple, on a rum sponge and coconut broth with coconut foam.
The portions look small, but its actually quite filling. There were 4 of us, each having 3 tapas dishes each. 2 of us had a dessert, 1 a coffee and we all had a soft drink. We got 30% off the price of the food from an online deal, so it only ended up costing £15 a head. Would definitely recommend it!
I had 3 tapas dishes. A finely textured pork and foie gras pate infused with Fino sherry, served with crispy bread with herbs. A crispy filo parcel with a beef stew filling, served with sweet potato mash. And A classic Spanish rice dish with chicken, pork and vegetables flavoured with saffron. And for dessert I had Sautéed pineapple, on a rum sponge and coconut broth with coconut foam.
The portions look small, but its actually quite filling. There were 4 of us, each having 3 tapas dishes each. 2 of us had a dessert, 1 a coffee and we all had a soft drink. We got 30% off the price of the food from an online deal, so it only ended up costing £15 a head. Would definitely recommend it!
Went to the theatre yesterday afternoon, which happened to be round the corner from Pitt Cue Co . We queued up from 5:15pm to make sure we got a seat, and whilst waiting at the bar, we had some lovely scratchings and a very juicy trotter sausage. For our meal, we went with one of the specials - Shoulder of Mangalitsa. Slow cooked for 10 hours and then finished on heat fat side down, it was 1.2Kg of absolutely superb pork. Fell apart like pulled pork, it was so so good. Also had sides of incredibly creamy and rich bone marrow mash, and some very tasty green chilli slaw. Washed down with a few bottles of pale ale and a final shot of bourbon and a shot of pickle juice, it was a superb meal .
. We queued up from 5:15pm to make sure we got a seat, and whilst waiting at the bar, we had some lovely scratchings and a very juicy trotter sausage. For our meal, we went with one of the specials - Shoulder of Mangalitsa. Slow cooked for 10 hours and then finished on heat fat side down, it was 1.2Kg of absolutely superb pork. Fell apart like pulled pork, it was so so good. Also had sides of incredibly creamy and rich bone marrow mash, and some very tasty green chilli slaw. Washed down with a few bottles of pale ale and a final shot of bourbon and a shot of pickle juice, it was a superb meal .You know what, I don't normally take photos at restaurants but I actually planned to take some yesterday. Then the food came out, and the thought of photos disappeared, followed quite quickly by all the meat!And you didn't get any pictures?!
Went to Hibiscus for lunch hoping for a great meal, unfortunately it wasn't quite as good as we were expecting it to be.
We had an amuse bouche of a lovely warm pea purée, which was sitting underneath a coconut foam, and that was topped with a sprinkle of curry powder. This was served in a hens egg shell. I'm not sure what the relevance of that was, but it was very tasty.
For my starter, I went with the confit var salmon, which was served with smoked custard, aubergine purée, and salmon egg caviar. The salmon was nice, and overall it was a good starter, nothing amazing but some good flavours that went well together. The others on my table went with the pork pie ravioli, new season peas, and dried pickled eggs. This turned out to be the starter to go for, as they all loved it.
For my main I chose the plantation pork, which came with an artichoke barigoule, and sauce charcutière. Unfortunately, this was disappointing as it lacked any real flavour. The pork was quite bland, the barigoule was ok and there was hardly any sauce.
Beef bavette and cod were also chosen, and they were very good. However, the most disappointing part of all of our main course was the fact that none of our food was hot. It was barely warm when it arrived, and was almost cold by the time it was finished.
The dessert was an olive oil parfait, with alphonso mango and kaffir lime. This was great, the best part of the meal. Creamy subtly flavoured parfait, with lovely small diced pieces of sweet mango, it was very good.
A cup of average filter coffee at the end was in a tiny cup, almost espresso size, but the pieces of Aero-like chocolate that came with it were lovely.
The service was friendly and polite, but overall just adequate. They took care when serving the red wine so as to not let any drop onto the table cloth, but didn't seem to mind spilling the water and white wine whilst pouring it.
Twenty metres away is Pollen St Social with only 1 Michelin star, but where we had a much better meal and overall experience. A shame really.
We had an amuse bouche of a lovely warm pea purée, which was sitting underneath a coconut foam, and that was topped with a sprinkle of curry powder. This was served in a hens egg shell. I'm not sure what the relevance of that was, but it was very tasty.
For my starter, I went with the confit var salmon, which was served with smoked custard, aubergine purée, and salmon egg caviar. The salmon was nice, and overall it was a good starter, nothing amazing but some good flavours that went well together. The others on my table went with the pork pie ravioli, new season peas, and dried pickled eggs. This turned out to be the starter to go for, as they all loved it.
For my main I chose the plantation pork, which came with an artichoke barigoule, and sauce charcutière. Unfortunately, this was disappointing as it lacked any real flavour. The pork was quite bland, the barigoule was ok and there was hardly any sauce.
Beef bavette and cod were also chosen, and they were very good. However, the most disappointing part of all of our main course was the fact that none of our food was hot. It was barely warm when it arrived, and was almost cold by the time it was finished.
The dessert was an olive oil parfait, with alphonso mango and kaffir lime. This was great, the best part of the meal. Creamy subtly flavoured parfait, with lovely small diced pieces of sweet mango, it was very good.
A cup of average filter coffee at the end was in a tiny cup, almost espresso size, but the pieces of Aero-like chocolate that came with it were lovely.
The service was friendly and polite, but overall just adequate. They took care when serving the red wine so as to not let any drop onto the table cloth, but didn't seem to mind spilling the water and white wine whilst pouring it.
Twenty metres away is Pollen St Social with only 1 Michelin star, but where we had a much better meal and overall experience. A shame really.
Associate
I went to Ulysses(Greek Restaurant) in Birmingham last Friday. I did not aspect to find the best Greek Restaurant I have been outside Greece!
I had a mix of starters including saganaki, tzatzichi, pitta bread, Greek meatballs and a cream of cod(can't remember the name).
Mussaka and pork suvlaki(pork skewers) with chips and salad for main. A nice dessert and a shot of Greek liquor.
Everything tasted just as the same as the food I had in Greece.
I had a mix of starters including saganaki, tzatzichi, pitta bread, Greek meatballs and a cream of cod(can't remember the name).
Mussaka and pork suvlaki(pork skewers) with chips and salad for main. A nice dessert and a shot of Greek liquor.
Everything tasted just as the same as the food I had in Greece.
Went to Black and Blue for lunch with some colleagues from work. They've been there before and enjoyed it.
I was looking forward to a nice piece of steak for lunch, so I went with the Sirloin (280g) which came with fries and bearnaise sauce. Starting with the good; the chips were nice and crunchy, and the bearnaise sauce was rich and creamy. The not so good was the steak, which was overcooked, a little tough, and quite bland. For £24 it really wasn't good. Several of the group went for the Steak Frites, which was a Pave Rump steak. This looked nice, I wish I'd gone with that, especially as it was £10 cheaper than the sirloin.
There are many better steak restaurants in the area I'd rather go to, even if they are a little bit more expensive.
On the positive side, it is across the road from Workshop Coffee, so I popped in there for a nice Aeropress afterwards.
I was looking forward to a nice piece of steak for lunch, so I went with the Sirloin (280g) which came with fries and bearnaise sauce. Starting with the good; the chips were nice and crunchy, and the bearnaise sauce was rich and creamy. The not so good was the steak, which was overcooked, a little tough, and quite bland. For £24 it really wasn't good. Several of the group went for the Steak Frites, which was a Pave Rump steak. This looked nice, I wish I'd gone with that, especially as it was £10 cheaper than the sirloin.
There are many better steak restaurants in the area I'd rather go to, even if they are a little bit more expensive.
On the positive side, it is across the road from Workshop Coffee, so I popped in there for a nice Aeropress afterwards
.I paid a visit to Honest Burger in Soho yesterday evening. After a fairly poor steak at lunch, I was looking forward to a top notch burger.
Firstly, something that both Patty & Bun and Pitt Cue Co can learn from, and that is the waiting system at Honest Burger. We turned up at just after 7pm and I knew we'd have to wait for a table. After being added to the waiting list, they then sent me a txt with a link to a web page which had my position in the queue. This meant we could go round the corner to a pub for a drink whilst we waited. This web page continually updated until I got another txt saying my table was ready. Great system!
Anyway, we got in and studied the menu. A simple choice in the end; Honest burger with onion rings and beetroot and apple coleslaw.
The burger and chips arrived in a nice large metal bowl, those old white ones with the blue rim. The onion rings and slaw were in separate dishes.
The rosemary chips were good although I did have quite a lot of small broken ones, like you get at the end of a cooked batch. The onion rings were nice and crispy with no oil dripping from them, and the slaw was ok; not the best I've had. The burger itself was very good. The onion relish was lovely although quite a dominant flavour over the bacon and cheese. The burger patty itself was very good. It was a decent size, well cooked (nice and pink), and with a good beefy flavour to it. The brioche bun was light and lovely, and held it all together perfectly.
Service was polite, and although they were packed, it wasn't slow. Decor inside is nice and rustic. The tables are close together but we didn't find that a problem.
I really enjoyed it all, but in my opinion, it is a notch below Patty & Bun. Definitely worth a visit for a top quality burger if you're in the area though.
Firstly, something that both Patty & Bun and Pitt Cue Co can learn from, and that is the waiting system at Honest Burger. We turned up at just after 7pm and I knew we'd have to wait for a table. After being added to the waiting list, they then sent me a txt with a link to a web page which had my position in the queue. This meant we could go round the corner to a pub for a drink whilst we waited. This web page continually updated until I got another txt saying my table was ready. Great system!
Anyway, we got in and studied the menu. A simple choice in the end; Honest burger with onion rings and beetroot and apple coleslaw.
The burger and chips arrived in a nice large metal bowl, those old white ones with the blue rim. The onion rings and slaw were in separate dishes.
The rosemary chips were good although I did have quite a lot of small broken ones, like you get at the end of a cooked batch. The onion rings were nice and crispy with no oil dripping from them, and the slaw was ok; not the best I've had. The burger itself was very good. The onion relish was lovely although quite a dominant flavour over the bacon and cheese. The burger patty itself was very good. It was a decent size, well cooked (nice and pink), and with a good beefy flavour to it. The brioche bun was light and lovely, and held it all together perfectly.
Service was polite, and although they were packed, it wasn't slow. Decor inside is nice and rustic. The tables are close together but we didn't find that a problem.
I really enjoyed it all, but in my opinion, it is a notch below Patty & Bun. Definitely worth a visit for a top quality burger if you're in the area though.
Soldato
Triple header in London this weekend:
First up Patty and Bun. We both had the Smokey Robinson Burger with a side of fries/wings. It was a good burger, very juicy, but nothing special and I won't be hurrying back.
Then that evening we did Pitt Cue co. Got there for opening and had a drink in the bar; the Soho Sour cocktail is fantastic. We ordered some of the caramelised beef ribs, loaded potato skins and a pulled pork meal with a side of bone marrow mash. All of it was good but be warned, it's BBQ but with a British twist; no sugary tomato-based BBQ sauce here, it's all their own recipe stuff. This isn't a bad thing at all but if you are expecting BBQ sauce style things as served in places across the UK then forget it. The meat was of great quality but the smokey flavour was just not there in the abundance that I like when eating BBQ pulled pork. The pork was very succulent and flavoursome though. The potato skins were a waste of time (and money!) but the ribs were epic. Big beefy flavours with lots of crunchy caramelised bark on them, but again not very smokey....
Finally, we hit up Hawksmoor for Sunday lunch. This place is just impeccable. A huge hunk of roast rump with all the trimmings and bone marrow gravy. It's one of the best if not the best roast dinners I have ever had. The puddings were also spot on, I had the peanut butter shortbread with salted caramel ice cream and the Mrs had a banoffee sundae. The shortbread was incredible, I would go far as to say the nicest dessert I have ever had. The Mrs thought the sundae was good but not enough ice cream and too much clotted cream in it. But, as usual, the Hawksmoor was the best meal of the trip.
First up Patty and Bun. We both had the Smokey Robinson Burger with a side of fries/wings. It was a good burger, very juicy, but nothing special and I won't be hurrying back.
Then that evening we did Pitt Cue co. Got there for opening and had a drink in the bar; the Soho Sour cocktail is fantastic. We ordered some of the caramelised beef ribs, loaded potato skins and a pulled pork meal with a side of bone marrow mash. All of it was good but be warned, it's BBQ but with a British twist; no sugary tomato-based BBQ sauce here, it's all their own recipe stuff. This isn't a bad thing at all but if you are expecting BBQ sauce style things as served in places across the UK then forget it. The meat was of great quality but the smokey flavour was just not there in the abundance that I like when eating BBQ pulled pork. The pork was very succulent and flavoursome though. The potato skins were a waste of time (and money!) but the ribs were epic. Big beefy flavours with lots of crunchy caramelised bark on them, but again not very smokey....
Finally, we hit up Hawksmoor for Sunday lunch. This place is just impeccable. A huge hunk of roast rump with all the trimmings and bone marrow gravy. It's one of the best if not the best roast dinners I have ever had. The puddings were also spot on, I had the peanut butter shortbread with salted caramel ice cream and the Mrs had a banoffee sundae. The shortbread was incredible, I would go far as to say the nicest dessert I have ever had. The Mrs thought the sundae was good but not enough ice cream and too much clotted cream in it. But, as usual, the Hawksmoor was the best meal of the trip.
Soldato
Hawksmoor smash a sunday roast. No doubt about that and I think it's good value too.
I too was in London this weekend.
Friday night I did Goodman's City - Had the scallops, which were nice, but nothing to write home about. Prime Ribeye was really nice. Seasoned well, sides were nice. Also had a seafood platter, which again wasn't anything to write home about. Steaks = very nice. Seafood = meh I've had better. Nice red though, good cocktails and productive evening.
Sat I wasn't due to eat as I was on a stag but come 22:30 I was ravaged and happened to walk past Bodean's and thought, hell, why not. The pulled pork wasn't as good as mine. Needed some more sharpness / smokiness and was a bit dry. Nice, but when you spend ages doing your own a lot you have a much higher bar.
Saying that though, the burnt ends were a treat. Amazing. I'd eat just them. All of them. Covered in their cooking juices so just juicy and sticky. Hnng.
Sunday I woke up and was going to hit the breakfast club, but the queue was miles long, so just grabbed a bite/coffee at Gail's, then made my way mooching up to Foxlow.
2 of us went, so shared some squid to start, which was really nice. Then a 950g porterhouse and some 8hr bacon ribs, sides of skin on fries, sausage stuffed onion (I know?! Just add meat!), and roast trimmings. Steak was really tasty. Again, well seasoned and bags of flavour. All of it was good. Can't fault it to be fair.
We did consume most of the cocktails in the world, then had dessert, which to be fair I only ate half of and finished with an old fashioned. Only to make our way up to the renaissance hotel for a few more cocktails at Gillbert Scotts before going to the airport.
Today I am a shell of my former self. Still full, well.... kinda. I need steak.
I too was in London this weekend.
Friday night I did Goodman's City - Had the scallops, which were nice, but nothing to write home about. Prime Ribeye was really nice. Seasoned well, sides were nice. Also had a seafood platter, which again wasn't anything to write home about. Steaks = very nice. Seafood = meh I've had better. Nice red though, good cocktails and productive evening.
Sat I wasn't due to eat as I was on a stag but come 22:30 I was ravaged and happened to walk past Bodean's and thought, hell, why not. The pulled pork wasn't as good as mine. Needed some more sharpness / smokiness and was a bit dry. Nice, but when you spend ages doing your own a lot you have a much higher bar.
Saying that though, the burnt ends were a treat. Amazing. I'd eat just them. All of them. Covered in their cooking juices so just juicy and sticky. Hnng.
Sunday I woke up and was going to hit the breakfast club, but the queue was miles long, so just grabbed a bite/coffee at Gail's, then made my way mooching up to Foxlow.
2 of us went, so shared some squid to start, which was really nice. Then a 950g porterhouse and some 8hr bacon ribs, sides of skin on fries, sausage stuffed onion (I know?! Just add meat!), and roast trimmings. Steak was really tasty. Again, well seasoned and bags of flavour. All of it was good. Can't fault it to be fair.
We did consume most of the cocktails in the world, then had dessert, which to be fair I only ate half of and finished with an old fashioned. Only to make our way up to the renaissance hotel for a few more cocktails at Gillbert Scotts before going to the airport.
Today I am a shell of my former self. Still full, well.... kinda. I need steak.
Associate
Cantina mexicana in Southampton.
Nice food and friendly staff but quite pricey.
Nice food and friendly staff but quite pricey.
Big Easy Covent Garden
"Bar B.Q. and Crabshack"
http://bigeasy.co.uk/
Really enjoyed this had a seafood sharing platter to start with lobster, crab claws, giant prawns and a few different sauces. Also had some chicken wings with that which were pretty nice and were served with a buffalo sauce and some blue cheese dressing and celery.
For main I had half a chicken which was great - really nice smoky flavour. What really stood out for me was the quality of the sides - the sauces, coleslaw, beans and fries were really nice and really added to the meal rather than being an afterthought.
Nice big restaurant with a good atmosphere, I think until I get a chance to go to Pitt Cue this will be my favourite BBQ place now.
"Bar B.Q. and Crabshack"
http://bigeasy.co.uk/
Really enjoyed this had a seafood sharing platter to start with lobster, crab claws, giant prawns and a few different sauces. Also had some chicken wings with that which were pretty nice and were served with a buffalo sauce and some blue cheese dressing and celery.
For main I had half a chicken which was great - really nice smoky flavour. What really stood out for me was the quality of the sides - the sauces, coleslaw, beans and fries were really nice and really added to the meal rather than being an afterthought.
Nice big restaurant with a good atmosphere, I think until I get a chance to go to Pitt Cue this will be my favourite BBQ place now.
Soldato
Went to Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons on Monday, for my Birthday.
Went for the seven course menu which is shown below. The only change was that instead of the lamb, they were serving Assiette of piglet, cabbage, onion puree and apple.
The whole experience was absolutely wonderful. Even though it is a 2 Star, it is much more relaxed than other Michelin starred restaurants I have been to in the past. All the staff were friendly and not a hint of stuffiness, even though most of the clientele in there were a lot older than us and clearly had far more money. The cars in the car park were unreal.
I had a bottle of Wrensbury cider in the lounge as I had not seen it before and it was superb. Bit pricey at £13.50 for 375ml but it was almost like a wine in flavour. Definitely going to have to search some more down. It actually carried me through the first three courses. I then had a glass of red which was served with the piglet, a Clau de Nell which was recommended by the sommelier in the lounge. £13.50 for 125ml. Wonderful stuff.
We got a selection oif nibbles in the lounge and I cannot remember what they were but they were, as expected, full of flavours and textures.
Anyway, I did not take any pictures as I find that embarrassing but there was nothing I could fault really.
My favourite dishes turned out to be the simplest which were the soup, the egg on watercress puree and then the cheeses. The wine that came with the cheese course is like nothing I have ever had before. Smells like sherry but has a very apply flavour, almost like granny smith apples. The combination is nothing I have ever had before and myself and the missus were grinning from ear to ear.
The waiters were all very knowledgeable and I has a good chat with them after each course talking about the flavour combinations and how each component was made.
I am going to have a stab at the egg dish as they told me how to make the egg so perfect which was baffling me. They basically steam it in the shell till almost cooked, take it gently out of the shell and fry it in walnut oil.
We took tea on the terrace afterwards which was another £12 but another plate of sweet nibbles came out including a little liquorice ice cream covered in chocolate. Reminded me of Scandinavia as you can get them out there though this was far superior.
Had a walk round the gardens afterwards which are absolutely stunning.
Highly recommended.
Went for the seven course menu which is shown below. The only change was that instead of the lamb, they were serving Assiette of piglet, cabbage, onion puree and apple.
The whole experience was absolutely wonderful. Even though it is a 2 Star, it is much more relaxed than other Michelin starred restaurants I have been to in the past. All the staff were friendly and not a hint of stuffiness, even though most of the clientele in there were a lot older than us and clearly had far more money. The cars in the car park were unreal.
I had a bottle of Wrensbury cider in the lounge as I had not seen it before and it was superb. Bit pricey at £13.50 for 375ml but it was almost like a wine in flavour. Definitely going to have to search some more down. It actually carried me through the first three courses. I then had a glass of red which was served with the piglet, a Clau de Nell which was recommended by the sommelier in the lounge. £13.50 for 125ml. Wonderful stuff.
We got a selection oif nibbles in the lounge and I cannot remember what they were but they were, as expected, full of flavours and textures.
Anyway, I did not take any pictures as I find that embarrassing but there was nothing I could fault really.
My favourite dishes turned out to be the simplest which were the soup, the egg on watercress puree and then the cheeses. The wine that came with the cheese course is like nothing I have ever had before. Smells like sherry but has a very apply flavour, almost like granny smith apples. The combination is nothing I have ever had before and myself and the missus were grinning from ear to ear.
The waiters were all very knowledgeable and I has a good chat with them after each course talking about the flavour combinations and how each component was made.
I am going to have a stab at the egg dish as they told me how to make the egg so perfect which was baffling me. They basically steam it in the shell till almost cooked, take it gently out of the shell and fry it in walnut oil.
We took tea on the terrace afterwards which was another £12 but another plate of sweet nibbles came out including a little liquorice ice cream covered in chocolate. Reminded me of Scandinavia as you can get them out there though this was far superior.
Had a walk round the gardens afterwards which are absolutely stunning.
Highly recommended.