What Restaurant did you eat at last night?
- Thread starter physichull
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North/South divide?
Went to Goodman, Mayfair on Wednesday. Had a few different starters, a couple of USDA grain fed porterhouses, a handful of sides and dessert between four of us. It was great, the steak was perfect, US beef is much leaner but still has plenty of flavour and I thought it was better than Hawksmoor. The chips weren't as good as Hawksmoor but their mac and cheese is great plus they have pepper sauce with a proper pepper kick. Hawksmoor is a bit cooler (Covent Garden vs Mayfair I guess) but Goodman was just a little more polished, bringing a selection of steaks out (uncooked) is a nice touch, it gives you a good idea of sizes and the selection and plenty of time to ask questions. With a couple of bottles of £35 beaujolais, 1.8kg of steak it was ~£65 a head.
Went for drinks at the Coburg Bar at the Connaught before which was good, service was a little hit and miss but the drinks were good and the olives edible. Full of hedge fund guys but it comes with the territory and at a couple of quid less a cocktail than most other similar places I can put up with that.
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Meaning?
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wondering if any of the north east mob have been to Pan Haggertys on the quayside yet?
by all accounts they dont serve meagre portions and its a mix of modern and traditional
by all accounts they dont serve meagre portions and its a mix of modern and traditional
Soldato
Heard some resonable things about it to be fair. If you haven't tried Cafe Buee round the corner though, go there! Run by a lovely French couple. I was so impressed, I even wrote a tripadvisor review, and I never do that! Absolute bargain Cafe Buee is! Upstairs is dead nice (ask to go up if they dont take you up there). The wine is very good value for what it is too.
Pan Haggertys is pretty good hearty fare foodwise, but it lacked much atmosphere when I went, although it was midweek. I think I prefered the ambience of the Grainger Rooms where the chef used to be before it closed, which was a crying shame, although it really was just too hidden away.
Another nearby place which I would recommend is Broad Chare, which is another Terry Laybourne place (cafe 21 and jesmond dene house), probably more of a really great lunch than a posh dinner out experience though. Potted shrimp and the scotch egg are stand outs from the menu that I can remember.
Another one of my favourites recently is The Cherry Tree in Jesmond. Food has been excellent everytime been there, but it has been let down on service, although this has improved on when it first opened. It is generally better midweek than weekends, as I think it is too busy on weekends for the quality of waiting staff they have sadly. They often have live music of a quite reasonable standard too
Another nearby place which I would recommend is Broad Chare, which is another Terry Laybourne place (cafe 21 and jesmond dene house), probably more of a really great lunch than a posh dinner out experience though. Potted shrimp and the scotch egg are stand outs from the menu that I can remember.
Another one of my favourites recently is The Cherry Tree in Jesmond. Food has been excellent everytime been there, but it has been let down on service, although this has improved on when it first opened. It is generally better midweek than weekends, as I think it is too busy on weekends for the quality of waiting staff they have sadly. They often have live music of a quite reasonable standard too
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I like the idea of it being good hearty food...I have also heard good things about the broad chare
I am not looking for a posh dinner, just decent quality food at a fair price
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Lunch @ Marcus Wareing today - just did the set menu (3 courses for £38 + chocolates & amuse)
Amuse was a breaded pea/potato finger with a fish soup to dunk it in - basically a kind of reverse fish and chips. Really good, although a tad too vinegary for my southern tastes!
Mackerel starter with gooseberry was a bit odd. The skin had not been crisped on the mackerel (I'm guessing to make it look good) and I'm not sure the gooseberry sauce worked with it along with the other bits.
Main course was lemon sole with pea risotto - beautiful. It came with some small blobs of really strong lemon puree which worked really well. Some of my friends opted for a duck dish which was also very nice
Pre-dessert was a pineapple sorbet with coconut jelly & coconut ash - was excellent
Dessert - custard tart with tarragon sorbet, raspberry and soft meringue. The custard tart, as expected was perfect. The problem was I'm not sure the rest of it really worked with it - only one other person in our table of 6 seemed to really enjoy it. I also tried the strawberries with cicely leaves and some kind of cream infused with hay. It didn't reach the heights of the strawberry dessert I had at Roganic last weekend. I think if they had macerated the strawberries - as they did at roganic - it would have been very good indeed.
Lastly - a seemingly endless supply of chocolates which are excellent.
Overall, pretty good. I'm not sure I'll ever get around to doing the full on tasting menu here, but it's the second lunch I've had there and at £38 for 3 courses (£50 with 2 glasses of matched wine) it's pretty good value. However if you're looking for a very good formal 2-3* restaurant I think you'd be a lot better off at the ledbury (and it'd save you some money too!)
Amuse was a breaded pea/potato finger with a fish soup to dunk it in - basically a kind of reverse fish and chips. Really good, although a tad too vinegary for my southern tastes!
Mackerel starter with gooseberry was a bit odd. The skin had not been crisped on the mackerel (I'm guessing to make it look good) and I'm not sure the gooseberry sauce worked with it along with the other bits.
Main course was lemon sole with pea risotto - beautiful. It came with some small blobs of really strong lemon puree which worked really well. Some of my friends opted for a duck dish which was also very nice
Pre-dessert was a pineapple sorbet with coconut jelly & coconut ash - was excellent
Dessert - custard tart with tarragon sorbet, raspberry and soft meringue. The custard tart, as expected was perfect. The problem was I'm not sure the rest of it really worked with it - only one other person in our table of 6 seemed to really enjoy it. I also tried the strawberries with cicely leaves and some kind of cream infused with hay. It didn't reach the heights of the strawberry dessert I had at Roganic last weekend. I think if they had macerated the strawberries - as they did at roganic - it would have been very good indeed.
Lastly - a seemingly endless supply of chocolates which are excellent.
Overall, pretty good. I'm not sure I'll ever get around to doing the full on tasting menu here, but it's the second lunch I've had there and at £38 for 3 courses (£50 with 2 glasses of matched wine) it's pretty good value. However if you're looking for a very good formal 2-3* restaurant I think you'd be a lot better off at the ledbury (and it'd save you some money too!)
Going back here again on Monday and then off to the Royal Opera House after for the Mariinsky Ballet. Can't Wait!
Caporegime
Yod Siam in Nottingham.
A pleasant enough restaurant, with decent service. Although the venue, ambience and service aren't really up to the prices they charge there was nothing terrible about them. We didn't have that much time so it was main course + drink only.
I had Traditional Red Duck Curry and Coconut rice. It arrived surprisingly quickly after ordering. The meat was delicious, really perfectly cooked and well flavoured and the mix of vegetables and sauces provided a good mix of flavours and textures - with the inclusion of lychees particularly notable. The rice was sticky and tasty and the quantity of both rice and main dish was about spot on - not so much you felt stuffed after eating it but not so little you felt you wanted more.
It was £13 for both, about the same level as most things on the menu. Which puts it out of the cheap range, but certainly not into the pricey range. I'd go there again - it was good food - but I don't think I'd go out of my way for it.
A pleasant enough restaurant, with decent service. Although the venue, ambience and service aren't really up to the prices they charge there was nothing terrible about them. We didn't have that much time so it was main course + drink only.
I had Traditional Red Duck Curry and Coconut rice. It arrived surprisingly quickly after ordering. The meat was delicious, really perfectly cooked and well flavoured and the mix of vegetables and sauces provided a good mix of flavours and textures - with the inclusion of lychees particularly notable. The rice was sticky and tasty and the quantity of both rice and main dish was about spot on - not so much you felt stuffed after eating it but not so little you felt you wanted more.
It was £13 for both, about the same level as most things on the menu. Which puts it out of the cheap range, but certainly not into the pricey range. I'd go there again - it was good food - but I don't think I'd go out of my way for it.
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Local curry place.
http://zaikacuisine.com/index.html
Was good. My dad goes every week. firendly service, not expensive and nice food.
http://zaikacuisine.com/index.html
Was good. My dad goes every week. firendly service, not expensive and nice food.
Permabanned
The duke of york, firtree. Used to have a bad rep as it had an awful chef, however recently been taken over by somebody else and the food is simple amazing, 2 fillets with onion rings and chips and a bottle of wine, £30.
Really great, only problem is they cook the steak one over what you ask for , e.g. ask for medium get well done. Obviously you just order 1 under normal but not ideal, we did tell the chef.
All other food there is great though, no problems at all.
Really great, only problem is they cook the steak one over what you ask for , e.g. ask for medium get well done. Obviously you just order 1 under normal but not ideal, we did tell the chef.
All other food there is great though, no problems at all.
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me and missus had a meal at thorpe park 360 bar & grill, around 25 for both of us, but the quality of food isnt great, burger king was the better choice for less. heads up to anyone whos thinkin of havin a meal there 
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Sat Bains in Nottingham
Development Kitchen - it was amazing. I'll do a proper writeup and stuff when my pics come back off my mate as i borrowed his camera
Development Kitchen - it was amazing. I'll do a proper writeup and stuff when my pics come back off my mate as i borrowed his camera
Did you enjoy the days cricket?
My girlfriend took me to Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons for my 40th last week. We had the Découverte (tasting) menu and as you would expect, the food was sublime. Highlights were the crab in courgette flowers, the citrus dessert with a melt in the mouth lemon meringue, and duck liver pate with cherry.
The service was friendly, understated and very welcoming. No massive flourishes or hovering, but if you needed anything they would be there instantly.
The kitchen gardens are great to explore - hard to resist sampling the amazing veg and herbs.
Without a doubt the best culinary experience I have had.
The service was friendly, understated and very welcoming. No massive flourishes or hovering, but if you needed anything they would be there instantly.
The kitchen gardens are great to explore - hard to resist sampling the amazing veg and herbs.
Without a doubt the best culinary experience I have had.
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