Bill's in Covent Garden

So after a long cold day at Twickenham we headed in to London's West End for a spot of dinner. The choice was down to me, it was a family day out with partners, 8 of us in total, so no pressure then. Haha.

Bill's only opened 1 month ago and has had some great review one of which from a good foodie friend of mine, so with a good menu and decent prices I thought it would be a good place to keep everyone happy.

We booked a table just incase, but as it goes it was dead especially compared to Jamies Italian next door, but I must give it it's due it has only been open for a month and it was the day after boxing day, oh and it is a fairly new brand.

All 8 of us walk in and find our table waiting for us, our reserved table for 8 that was oddly set for 10??? Any who after a little musical chairs we sat and ordered our drinks. At each place was a large orange, which was nice but a little odd, just their kind of quirky way I guess. We were sat amongst all Bill's deli products stacked hight to the ceiling everywhere you looked, all of which of course was for sale. They very cleverly have a shopping tick list on your table too which I thought was a fantastic way of capitalising on your customers pockets. You simply tick what you would like to order and give it to a member of the team and they will have it ready for you when you leave. My boyfriends lovely parents were of course sucked in to this nifty bit of marketing and bought a few treats to take home with them.


Now one thing that really did bother me, is that there was nothing to tell me about Bill, who is he? whats his story? As soon as you walk in you are hit with a wonderful visual treat of goodies in cool retro packaging and blackboards with messages on but nothing, not a word, well that I could find anyway about this Bill bloke. I must have made quite a fuss as before long I was being updated but the boys - they had asked our waiter and he had told all, now do bare with me as at this point this is third hand information but it went something like this... Bill owned a greengrocers and then opened some restaurants. Sorry I do hope that isn't too much of a let down but then perhaps your not interested any way?? I have checked the site and there isn't anything on there either so I am afraid that will have to do.

Right on to the food!!

I have the mezze to start and shared it with my boyfriend - it was nice, nice and fresh nothing amazing just nice, but it was served on a slice of wood with its bark still on which I thought was lovely and it came with diagonally cut bread which had been splashed with olive oil-very nice.

Main course I went for the special which was the T-bone steak - bloody lovely - cooked to perfection! I also ordered a side salad which I didn't need and wouldn't have ordered if the waiter had told me everything the steak came with. I did ask and he said chips, but saying that the rocket that came along with the steak and chips was not a patch on the side salad I ordered, it was very very good indeed, and topped with seeds too.

All in all a nice place the type of place for a bite to eat nothing fancy maybe a lunch with a friend of a quick something on a impromptu meal out.

Lunch this afternoon with my boyfriend and dad in prep for Christmas. We popped along to my fav pub/ restaurant local to my mum and dad's called The Square and Compasses, in the village of Fuller Street Essex, which to get to we tackled crazy snow and sludge, its that good. Mostly local produce even down to their Ale its a really nice spot. We were offered a festive menu and a regular menu, all of us opted for the regular one. I had gammon, egg (poached) and chips, my boyfriend had homemade burger and chips and my dad had ham egg and chips. The boys also had local ales which needless to say went down very well indeed. The burger by the way was massive a very generous portion indeed.

We sat at our usual table, next to the wood burning stove where there is a cute little note to customers say "please feel free to lob a log on the fire" this place is full of lovely little things like that.

The menu features a lot of locally shot game, including pigeon, pheasant and partridge. True to their surroundings this to a lovely little local pub restaurant that serves great local food and drink.

live music over a steak and wine

Giuseppes Ristorante is tucked away down The Kings Yard off of Borough high street, London Bridge. I was taken there by a friend who has been going for years. Its brilliant as you walk do the steep steps you can hear the live Italian music blaring out. We turned up on a Thursday night before xmas without a booking, it was packed, but we were offered a table, possibly the worst table i have ever sat at, it was a table for to half tucked under the stairs we had just walked down. But we took it and ordered quickly, I had.... surprise, surprise - steak. And my friend had veal. 

The guy that sings cheesy Italian songs really interacts with the room and before you know it people are singing along with him and well everyone is just having a great time, it can be a little hard to hear each other but its not the kind of place you would go to for a quiet meal. 

Its such an enjoyable dinning experience, all a bit ruff around the edges - my potatoes looked tined then roasted and the other veg, boiled within an inch of their lives but its such fun and well worth going to, especially after drinks with friends.

Italian by Germans

Vapiano, is a great restaurant/ eatery siting on Great Portland Street, London. I've been a few times i think its been open for a couple of years now. Its a straight forward well designed pizza, pasta place set out over 2 levels. You walk in and are greeted by smiling face who asks if you have been before and if you haven't explains how the concept works. Its brilliant really. The idea is you are given a card like an oyster card/ swipe card which holds all your spending on each guest is give one so its great for large groups you simply pay for what you have. So you find a place to sit, choose from a long bench a high small bench or soft seating up stairs and everywhere you look there is fresh basil, pots and pots of it.  

The menu is very simple and easy to read, once you have decided what you would like you have to go to the food area and place your order, once you have ordered you swipe your card and either wait there till its ready - this is fine for pasta or salads but most of the time with a pizza you are given a flashing vibrating thing that you take back to your table and wait till it goes off, which is your green light to go and pickup your freshly made pizza. 

They have lots of jugs of tap water too that you can help your self to and they have a small bar area near the entrance where you can pick up a glass or bottle of wine. 

I love it there its good fresh food reasonable priced and great a quick spot of lunch or a bite to eat.

Go and check it out its well worth a trip. 

Carluccio's again

Lunch this time, for a work/pleasure thing. It was the one in Fenwick's Bond Street. We had a glass of wine each and i ordered the seafood salad with out the chilli. It was fine nothing special. The service was good and the bill was acceptable.

I'll keep it short and sweet as they seem to feature quick often on here.

New Indian in WC2

I popped a long to the Dishoom the other day with a friend. Its stunning the most stylist Indian restaurant I have been to. The service was brilliant we were served by this barrow boy type, turns out he's an actor too. The menu was straight forward enough with lots of choice and well priced. The way i experienced it was its very western for example they serve their version of cheese on toast and fish fingers. We were advised of the special curries of the day and ordered. We were recommended to order a couple of dishes and share, so we did and it was lovely.

They have a wonderful mix of excellent surroundings and great food. If I am honest I was more taken by the venue than the food, but either way they have done their job as i have already recommended it to many of my food loving friends.


I did request some images but have never received them so have sadly only screen grabs for you but, you will see what I mean by excellent venue.

lunch with mum and dad in the country

A cold snowy saturday in the country, we decide to drive out to an old favourite pub called "The Dog and Gun". I have never been but my parents have many years ago. It was dead we were the only people in the place. We were told that they had been shut all week due to the snow. 

Enough about the snow.

We sat down next to a window in the restaurant area, tall leather chairs with nateral wood tables. Food was to be expected - pub grab albeit posh pub grub. What they did do which i thought was a nice touch - they had a black board offering todays cut of beef. Sirloin was the cut de jour and you could choose what size you wanted, each oz was charged accordingly. 

My dad and I opted for the beef and veg stew with cheesey dumpling!!! amazing just what we needed on a cold day. The dumpling - which of course I was not allowed was so so good I have a little taste and then handed it over reluctantly to my dad. Mum went for the steak 6oz, she said it was a little tough but you would never guess as she polished the plate off including the mound of deep fried onion spaghetti that was pilled on top. 

I would go back for sure.

birthday lunch at the kensington wine rooms

today was my big brothers 40th birthday lunch! Very popular as always,there were around 40 of us in the small restaurant. we all pre ordered. i have the asparagus with egg which when it arrived looked to be a goose egg! massive cooked to perfection with big juicy tender stems. for main i had steak, med rare as always, and even though they were catering for that many (and the majority had steak) my was cooked brilliantly, possibly a little rare but i loved it so no complaints from me. it was a wonderful day great food and great wine. talking of wine they have this brilliant set up which allows you to pop you card in and choose your wine by the glass. very very good.



well go a again for sure!!

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breakfast for one

More smoked salmon! Well if it makes me skinny haha. i stopped in at Balans in Soho today for an impromptu spot of breakfast this morning after walking back to the office from an industry networking event were all i had was 2 glasses of champagne, "too fabulous" as my friend so very aptly put it. Champaign at 8.30 on a Friday morning - i should think so!






Any way as I was saying breakfast was great, good hearty size serving of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon and a lovely glass pot of loose english breakfast tea. Just what i needed.






I've been here in the past I remember the first time i ever went and who i was with. its nothing special but there is also nothing wrong with it. (apart from my glass tea pot that nearly lost its handle and leaked tea on my table from the cracks).






all in all, a good breakie

Soup

And so the diet continues... nearly 2 weeks in and half a stone lighter.

Last night i went to carluccios, again, this time it was the Bluewater one. The only thing i could have was the broccoli soup one slight hitch, it was made with potatoes. I ordered and requested the bread to be removed!

The soup was lovely homemade and most importantly without cream or chilli!



My friend had the mozzarella and tomato salad which looked yummy, but it was basically a massive tomato and 4/5 slices of cheese all for a eyebrow raising £7.50.



As usual we received good service and nice surroundings. The manager was very helpful and all in all it was nice.

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Bedford and Strand - Wow!

business lunch at Bedford and Strand this afternoon- loved it great food great service and great surroundings a tiny bit pricey but not really. i had the mixed meat platter thing, very good indeed. loved it will be back again for sure.

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lunch at Pauls

quick lunch / meeting today at Pauls in Covent Garden. We all had the soup. meat ball soup and broccoli and 'cheese' soup the 'cheese' made me wonder rather ambiguous in my mind but apparently it was lovely. Mine on the other hand, the 'meatball' soup was spicy! it didnt say anything about spice on the menu you. Well for any of you who have read my past posts you will know that i cant take heat, spice, chilli anything remotely hot so i count eat it! not a happy bunny! However the bread looked to die for but thanks to my new diet that was a no go. Any who took a pic of my 'hot, spicy meatball' soup for you in case your interested.

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brunch at cafe rouge

Just met a friend for brunch in London Bridge, we ended up at cafe rouge. Its a lovely mild autumn day so we decided to sit out side. We both had the scrambled eggs and smoked salmon - the service was good the food was good and the prices were reasonable. All in all it was lovely, best of all was the company. There is nothing special about cafe rough i think its safe to say we all know that but for somewhere to grab some food with a friend it perfectly fine.

Fiat's Abarth event

last night i went to the Fiat Abarth event at the Fiat flagship store in Marylebone, London. It started off badly but very quickly improved, lots of bubble and lots of nibbles - which i couldnt eat due to my new stupid diet of just protein. we had a wonderful evening we met the very lovely Tom Chambers and lots of lovely Fiat people. Took lots of pics.

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Assaggini at Galileo's

 "Assaggini (a delicious array of beautifully prepared Italian small plates, in the tradition of Stuzzichini (little bites)"

Lovely Italian restaurant on Haymarket in central London which has introduced a new food concept called Assaggini its basically Italian tapas small dishes to share. Wow - its a full on thumbs up from me and to top it off this family ran restaurant had the whole family in including the granny. We were given a small traditional Tuscan dish to start which was bread soup; soup soaked in tomatoes - lovely flavour but i really didnt like the texture. after this we have sirloin steak which was very nice, small slices served on a hot plate cooke only on one side and dressed with olive oil, rosemary and green pepper corns very very good. 

This was a lovely way to enjoy many dishes in one sitting the food was excellent and the service very good. actually very good value for money for a nice treat during the week for lunch or a light dinner. 

new steak house

The Hawksmoor a British steak house and bar

I received a call this morning from a fellow foodie about a new restaurant in Covent Garden, he said 'we have to go it the next big thing in London' so off we went for lunch.

Amazing! the decor is fab old school desks and science lab top made in to table tops and bar tops dimly light and finished with high quality parka flooring.

The beer is all local London beer my friend had had a beer from a brewery in Charlton, Greenwich.

He had the burger i have the lamb chops. His came with beef dripping chips!! amazing! and mine came a little under done so I had to send them back which is saying something as i do love my rare meat, but not blue.

Any who - loved it, found it a little on the expense side but if you can afford it go!

The service was excellent and the general atmosphere was brilliant however my friend did note that i was 1 of only 2 women in the entire place - not that that bothered me.

Will be back for sure - its the kind of place you could loose a day in.


And they do Sunday roast!!! Just been crowned best roast in UK by Observer food monthly! must be good.

this says it all

Breakfast with a friend

Carluccios for breakfast - 
Bit pricey, tasty and good service. I had their answer to a full English but with poached eggs and instead of bacon its pancetta. It was lovely and warm and nice and quiet, I normally find these places rather busy and noisy. But I'd say all in all a nice breakfast. Breakfast for 2 was £27.   

Noodle Time

They say: 

                 Positive eating+ positive living, wagamama noodle bars serving up tasty noodles worldwide. 

I say: 

          God I love wagamamas noodles! Went there is afternoon, ordered the usual yaki soda with udon noodles and no ginger yum yum yum in my tum tum tum! My friend ordered a side from the specials which was mushroom and asparagus dumpling they were tasty good too. Can't go wrong with a good wagamamas unless of course its rammed or you find a maggot in you edemame beans (this happened to me a couple of years ago and yet I still go back) great value for money and excellent service today from a very happy to help and chat young man.   

wahaca mexican lunch

Now I don't like hot food but I treated my boyfriend and fussy food eater friend to lunch the other day. It was a lovely dining experience and the staff were great. We had the wahaca sharing thing which was very generous a little taste of, well everything at least it felt that way. Good food fresh and fast perfect for a quick spot of lunch. 
They refer to it as mexican market food and are popping up everywhere. 

On the Heath

Blackheath is a perfect spot, come rain or shine. The best place for food or just a drink is the Princess of Wales. It sits proudly on the corner of the heath full of locals and a lovely warm welcoming atmosphere. I love it there, great wine menu, reasonable priced home cooked grub, nice surroundings and a great heated outdoor space. Have been a few times and will be going back for sure for more.

Drinking on Jermyn Street

Love love love Franco's. Sat very comfortably on the amazingly traditional Jermyn Street, London. Franco's offers a great wine menu and when you buy a bottle you get a antipasti platter free; which is a lovely gesture, nibble on a selection of Italian meats and breads while sitting outside on a small table under your own heater while you are served on by very lovely staff.  Perfect for catch up drinks and watching the world go by. I love it there.

GBK

Popped in here tonight and grabbed a burger and chips with 1 of the endless vouchers; burger and a drink for £6 not bad value really. It was big and filling, I'm still very full now and we eat over 2 hours ago! Not my first choice of place for dinner but it did the job, it was very fast service and cooked to perfection - medium just as beef should always be. 

I made gnocchi!

What is gnocchi? Well i'll let wikipedia explain - but trust me its yummy! 

It was so so simple and totally delicious. I boiled 1kg of potatoes till cooked then peeled and mashed, added 1 egg and mixed in really quickly making sure the egg doesn't cook and finally 2 handfuls of plain flour and mixed together. Then simply grab a handful of the mixture and roll out into long sausages about 3cm thick and cut off 3cm pieces. All you have to do its add them to boiling water and wait for them to pop to the top and they are done. I made a really simple gorgonzola cream sauce to go with it - melt the cheese and add cream thats it. Oh and I added spinach too. It was so so s good. One for the dinner party book I think.

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Devonshire Terrace - quick bite

This was more of a 'grab a bit to eat' moment. Earlier this week a friend and I went for a few drinks after work at the Devonshire Terrace in Liverpool Street, London. I have been there a few time in the past it has an excellent out side space with heaters which is rather good as I think it actually dropped to about -2 degrees that evening. I ordered the steak burger and my friend chose a selection from the starters. Small portions and a little pricey. Filled a hole and did its job but didnt set the world a light. However I must say the service was very good.



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A touch of the Turkish

Efe's Meze Restaurant 

Saturday night my boyfriend and I went to a little Turkish restaurant in Greenwich, London. We have often driven past and seen it busy so we thought we would try it out. W arrived and ordered the meze for two to start, this consisted of bread and cold dips with the choice of 1 hot meze, we chose the halloumi wrapped in peppers and grilled aubergine in a tomato sauce. All the dips were amazing and clearly homemade. We then had meat cooked on the grill right next to us. My boyfriend had the Efe's special which was basically a mixed grill of charcoal cooked meats and I had a lamb shish kebab with rice and salad. The prices were very good around £10/£13 per dish large portion and very tasty.

All in all its safe to say we will go again and would happily recommend it to others. 

a meal for two with drinks and tip was £53. 

Two thumbs up from us! Wonderful, friendly, tasty ... very good.



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Birthday brunch at Smiths of Smithfield

Sunday 19th I had a birthday brunch at Smiths of Smithsfield with friends. Again I have been here before too. Its got a trendy London feel with a very good menu - you would be hard pushed to not find something to eat. Its a very relaxed if not noisy environment with a mix of large long benches and smaller round tables.

From my past visit I can recommend the Marconi cheese with smoked haddock, this time however I went for the homemade soup of the day - Leek and Potato with a thick slice of buttered white bread on the side. I was a little disappointed to find out that it was the thick liquidated type not the liquid type with chunks.

I know a very boring order but to be honest a heavy night drinking in Brighton the night before I just really fancied soup!

So not a huge amount to report back really...

Food - good
Drinks - good
Service - OK
Environment - not good - too noisy

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Rivington at Greenwich

Thursday 16th I visited the Rivington in Greenwich a restaurant offering great British food all sourced from the UK and Ireland. Choose from their restaurant menu or small bar menu either way you wont be disappointed. I have been there a few times now and enjoyed every time.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the Rivington is in fact part of the Caprice group which for all of those that dont know is the group that owns, the Ivy, Scott's, J.Sheekey, Daphne's and well most of the good ones in London!

This time we both had the Rivington Burger from the bar menu which was less than £10 and very good value for money in my opinion - it was a very good size portion home made burger cooked to order - in my case medium all severed open on a wood board with a side of yummy fat chips.

As I said I have eaten there before the restaurant isnt cheap but worth the prices. The food and the service is very good, a small seating area down stairs and a small outdoor area too.

But dont listen to me go and check it out for your self.

And if you are interested I have included a (rather bad) picture of my burger!

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Delicious Indian takeaway from Old Harlow, Essex

Tried and tested the best Indian takeaway I know. The Raj Lodge restaurant is the one we always get our takeaways from when back in Essex. We ordered a small feast tonight and it was bloody lovely the best I've had for ages, I wiped the plate clean with the tasty naan bread and even went back for seconds! I am rather odd (well thats what i'm told. I dont think I am) I cant take heat, so when it comes to curry I'm a Korma, Pasanda girl and if there is a slight hint of heat its game over and I will sulk for the rest of the evening so when I get a tasting good curry it makes me really very happy. Needless to say I ended up with a Pasanda, rice and Aloo Saag. 

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Simple cheap pub grub in Mawnan Smith

Dinner at the Red Lion in Mawnan Smith was cheap eats; main course and drinks for 5 was under £75. Now I thought that was very good value for money. Again the Doom Bar featured and also the faithful Sauvignon blanc. Nothing fancy just a pub restaurant in a small village serving pub grub. It had a good menu something for everyone and a good specials board. I had the Mushrooms Stroganoff, others had; steak pie, Sea Bass fillet, lasagne with chips and plaice, it was just what we needed. We were in and out with in an hour and a bit. 

I'd say it was good for what it was and it didnt break the bank 

atmosphere: 1.5/5
service: 3/5
food: 3/5
drink: 3/5
value for money: 4/5

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Cream tea at the castle

We decided to visit St Michaels Mount while we were down in Cornwall this week. Whilst there we thought would should try out their cream tea. So it was cream tea's all round. I can gladly report that we were not disappointed! 2 large homemade scones severed with yummy Rodda's Cornish cream. I shared mine with my boyfriend and it was plenty for 2. It was delicious and very naughty, all made that much nicer after walking around the grounds and house steeped in history with views out to sea. 

The over all experience was lovely but not with out a hefty tourist price tag I am afraid. Especially if you don't get your times right and the causeway gets swallowed up by the tide. We paid £2.50 to park, £1.50 each to get the 2min ferry over and the £8 to look around the house. 

atmosphere: 3/5
service: 3/5
food: 5/5
drink: 4/5
value for money: 2/5

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Alright at the The Shipwight Arms

We started our evening by jumping into our friends boat to get across the Helford River to the Helford village and mooring up at the Helford River Sailing Club where we began the night with a large glass of wine for the girls and Doom Bar's for the boys out on the terrace. 

Then it was on to The Shipwright Arms (01326 231235) down the way for a bite to eat. This pub sits just on the rivers edge with the most breath taking views of the Helford River and bundles of outside space for you to fully appreciate them. 

We arrived for a late dinner, around 8.30/9pm which did unfortunately upset our ordering: no steak and no lobster, very disappointing as I wanted the lobster and several others at our table wanted the steak. 

Anyway we ordered accordingly, I opted for the crab salad (seen as I couldn't have lobster it seemed like the next best thing) others ordered, steak pie, pork chops, and some Thai pork dish with rice. Our food arrived, large hearty potions with side salad baskets and massive plastic mixing bowls full of pub chips.  There was a guy out side cooking the last of the steaks and the other meat dishes on a large brick barbecue, which was a nice touch. Sadly though the food was very average, I found a lot of shell in my crab and the thai dish, and I quote, 'resembled a pot noodle'. Having said that the menu wasn't very pricey, you could eat for about £8-15 and as I said they were big meals. 

The best thing about the evening was sitting out side eating and drinking with friend looking out on to the river. We have been here before and it was once an old stomping ground for one of our party. It isn't going to set the culinary world a light but it is a lovely little gem and if you keep your expectations in check then you will on be let down.

atmosphere: 5/5
service: 4/5
food: 2/5
drink: 3/5
value for money: 3/5

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Oysters on the river

This week I'm down in Cornwall. Helford Passage to be exact, situated just on the north side of the Helford River. A beautiful place that we have visited before and will, I am sure continue you to for many more summers to come. Amazing views and great sailing. 

This evening we visited what used to be the local pub but is now and has been for the last two years a swanky oyster bar called The Ferry Boat Inn. This discovery upon arrival received a mixed response from our party. So there was nothing left to do but to try out the new (or not so new) local restaurant out for ourselves. Also with it being the only local watering hole and eatery it would be rude not to.

6 of us turned up without booking a table on a raining Monday night, we thought with it being towards the end of the season and it being a Monday night we would be fine but when we got  there at 8pm it was packed both inside and out! Lucky they have have a small bistro set towards the back of the restaurant which was empty where there was a large table waiting for us. 

We obviously ordered the local Helford River oysters farmed just around the corner at the historic Duchy of Cornwall Oyster Farm, 5 fresh regular oysters and 5 deep fried oysters to share. I must confess I couldn't bring myself to even try the deep fried ones, normally I will try anything but this time I just couldn't. So I played it safe with the plan oysters with a squeeze lemon. We were quite disappointed to find out that they only had 9 oysters left! Which considering it's an oyster bar and it was only 8.15pm is quite poor form.  

Main course they had a great selection of fish and meat dishes including lobster and chips for £18.50 (this being the most expenses dish on the menu) and a competent specials board. Most of us ordered from this, braised ox cheek with horseradish mash, Haddock and chips, fish pie and I had the grilled plaice with chips. 

Over all the meal was lovely, the only complaint was that the fish pie was so hot you had to wait a good 10 minutes before you could safely eat, to which we could only concluded that it must have been nuked in the microwave. 

The Ferry Boat Inn does has the most amazing views of the Helford River with lots of outdoor seating which in my books is an absolute must! 

So if your ever in the area I would throughly recommend it! 

Venue: 3/5 

Location: 5/5

Food: 3/5

Drink: 4/5

Value for money: 3.5/5

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A bite to eat in Marylebone High Street

Food with friends is one of life's greatest pleasures. Made even better with a bottle or two of wine!

This week I went to The Prince Regent on Marylebone High Street for just that. We walked in around 9pm ordered a bottle of their house white and the sharing plate for two with a side order of mini pies. 

The pub has a lovely atmosphere and is very welcoming, my friend had recommended and we were not disappointed. Decked out in rich warm red's, gold's, purple's and green's with large gold gilt mirrors and beautiful chandeliers all of which inspired by the regency period, it is very pleasing to the eye and added to its incredibly inviting character.

We sat and chatted on the lavish red velvet sofa whist drinking our very reasonably priced bottle of wine, during which we had our cutlery and condiments brought over to us by a lovely, friendly guy and a few moments later our food arrived. Over all the food was ok not brilliant, it was a very good size and a good selection for a sharing plate. 

I will defiantly go back and I would also recommend it too. Its a lovely pub that serves pub food, its as simple as that and to be honest if its great food your after there are plenty of restaurants along the street to choose from. 

atmosphere: 5/5
service: 5/5
food: 3/5
wine: 3/5
value for money: 4/5





deli2dinners@gmail.com 

Exhibition launch

On Wednesday my friend and I went along to the opening of a new photographic exhibition, 'B Sides London' at Fiumana Fine Art Gallery in the lovely Connaught village.

The exhibition: Small and compact, worth checking out when your next in the village.
To drink: Piper-Heidsieck champagne in fabulous branded red saucer champagne glasses.
To eat: Posh chocolate truffles of some sort? not to good.

You can see more of Dunsch's work on his site at www.oliver-dunsch.com.

we were give a signed limited edition print of this when we arrived, which was a nice touch.

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A taste of street food Soho style

Today I had my first taste of 'wok to walk'. Walking through London's Soho this afternoon I spotted 'wok to walk', noodles and rice on the go. I have walked past it many times and never gone in but always wondered.

So today was the day. The menu looked good and relevantly cheap for a lunch time bite to eat. It works a lot like subway but a lot nicer. 3 simple steps to your final dish; choose your 'base' (noodles and rice), add your 'favourite' (chicken, veg, fish etc) and then choose your 'sauce' (teriyaki, oyster etc). I went for Udon noodles - the big fat worm like ones with chicken and a soy sauce. It was ready in minutes and was tasty good for only £5.75!

They all come served in those cool American style noodle boxes and are a good hearty potion with plenty of meat with no scrimping on the good stuff.


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Check them out for yourself at http://www.woktowalk.com

Pleasant surprise from Pizza Express

I went to Pizza Express at The Freeport Designer Village, Essex last night with my dad and had a lovely evening. I would normally choose not to go to a Pizza Express, unless of course we had a discount voucher of some sort to hand.

So we went out for a quick bite to eat and ended up in a Pizza Express. It wasn't too busy, which was great, usually with their venues when they are busy you can barely hear yourself think let alone the people you are dining with.

The food was good, the waitress was lovely and the general atmosphere was very nice.

All in all it was a very nice visit to Pizza Express and on this occasion I would give them full marks!

And even without the oblatory voucher it was a steal at £25!




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http://www.pizzaexpress.com/our-restaurants/2871/braintree.aspx

The humble car picnic

'Car picnics' ... you can't get in the car for a journey longer than an hour and a half without a 'car picnic'!  Well thats what I think anyway. 


Today I drove to Manchester from Essex, we left at 6.15 this morning - yes you read correctly, well it is bank holiday and even with a 'car picnic' no one wants to be in the car longer than they have to. 


We had a whole pack of Lucozade, 4 crusty bread rolls with chicken, tomato and mayonnaise, chocolate fudge bars x4, a large bag of chessey crisps, cold cooked sausages and cherry scones with butter! Needless to say we were fully stocked for our 3 and a half hour car trip. Oh, did I mention it was just 2 of us in the car.


It seem's to me that the humble 'car picnic' is massively underrated, I would say even unknown to some! Those poor souls. 


So next time you plan your road trip be sure to pack a 'car picnic' to help make it a more enjoyable experience for all. 


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