Category: Out door seating

The Chop House – Vegetarian friendly!

Had a casual lunch with some friends in Butlers Wharf Chop House, we went for the set lunch in the bar area rather than the main restaurant.  For a restaurant known for its meat, the set menu surprisingly did not include any, just a rather nice selection of vegetarian dishes and one fish dish.

For starters we had the Vegetable and Barley soup, tasty and very wintry, but as the sky was dark with rain, it rather suited the day.  The Heritage Tomato salad was also delicious, so fresh it reminded one of my friends of her childhood eating tomatoes straight from the garden.  I had the red onion and cheese tart which I really enjoyed, the onions were very sweet and the combinations just worked. The Ling and runner beans needed a side order to complete the dish and the perfectly cooked Jersey potatoes were ideal. For dessert we ordered the Knickerbocker glory (nothing special), but the Secretts Farm Plums, Praline and Vanilla ice cream was well received, even if it was difficult to eat from the glass bowl.

The service was also very good, the staff were friendly and efficient. The only time we had any issue was when we came to pay the bill and found the bar area empty of staff.

Marks out of 10

Food 6.5

Service 6

Ambience 5

 

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Thai Marina – The Waterfront, Sovereign harbour

Another visit to the South coast to make the most of our Summer – Eastbourne this time.  Rather impressed actually. Eastbourne sea front is like a better kept Brighton. A short drive or a two miles walk along the coast path, heading south and you will reach Sovereign Harbour.

Sovereign Harbour is a huge rather attractive marina, which unfortunately seems to be somewhat lacking in bars and restaurants.  The rather small Waterfront complex is where the restaurants and bars are located, the  restaurant that looked the most interesting to us was called Thai Marina (only found out its name when we got the bill as the awning hides it and there was nothing on the menu but a logo as far as I could see).

This was a good find, I enjoyed their selection of Dim Sum and the dessert options though limited were good. I had a delicious coconut custard dish and my companion had an attractively presented coconut ice cream. Serving truffles with the Green Tea was also a nice touch.

Very relaxing, especially if like us, you get the weather and can sit out on the large terrace.

Marks out of 10 for Thai Marina during the day

Food 5.5

Service 5

Ambience 5

UPDATE : April 2011 – Made a return visit to Thai Marina, this time in the evening. I found the service to be particularly good. Too much lemon grass spoilt one of my companion’s dishes, but on the whole the food quality was well above average.  For my main course I ordered a Green Curry, which was not exactly as expected, much hotter with some red peppers and British Aubergines rather than Thai ones. However it worked, the sauce was delicious. It went well with the lovely fluffy coconut rice. The drinks/wine list was a surprise, it included a really good selection of spirits and several less common wines. We had a bottle of Picpoul De Pinet which complimented my curry beautifully.

UPDATE : May and August 2011 – Another two visits and another two very good meals. The Prawns and the Fish Cakes were perfect, I loved the Snow Crab with Wasabi dip and the Octopus I had was so tender that I managed to cut it easily with my spoon.  I also loved the vegetable carvings, they added that extra level of fun to the meal.

Marks out of 10 for Thai Marina in the Evening

Food 6.5

Service 6

Ambience 5

 

Simply Italian – another option

The Waterfront complex also houses a Simply Italian restaurant, this is part of a small chain of Italian Restaurants. It’s also worth a visit.  The Calzone I had was definitely better than anything Pizza Express can deliver and the pasta wasn’t bad either.

Marks out 10 for Simply Italian

Food 5

Service 5

Ambience 5

 

 

 

Gastronomica – Piemonte in Pimlico

Had breakfast at Gastronomica in Pimlico, a cafe/deli that advertises itself quite rightly as Piemonte in Pimlico.

Actually Gastronomica is a lot more that just this one cafe/deli. They have several market stalls (including one at Borough Market) and another couple of  cafes in Wapping and Manchester as well as a wholesale food business.

The cafe in the heart of Pimlico is not that pretty from the outside, as it is located in an unattractive red brick block of shops behind a rather garish red awning.

Inside it is much more attractive, the Cafe area consists of a couple of large wooden tables and a few smaller ones, surrounded by shelves of Italian Wine and cabinets full of wonderful meats and cheese. The menu is quite small, mainly Italian sandwiches, cheese and meat boards and salads, but everything looks really good.

My breakfast was just a simple ham and cheese tostado, served with a really good cup of coffee.  They also had a selection of cakes, which were inviting enough for me to want to make a return visit to try them along with another cup of that coffee. It’s always good to find an alternative to the ubiquitous Starbucks and Cafe Nero coffee shops.

This place captures the best of Italy. It’s very laid back, I particularly liked the way they went off menu to please a family that just wanted toast and jam for their kids. You definitely don’t see that in Starbucks.

UPDATE : January 2011, returned for coffee and cake, had a piece of strawberry and pannacotta cheese cake, and another cup of their great coffee.  I also bought some Delizia Mandorla (Almond Cakes) which are lovely with a glass of Amaretto.

Marks out of 10

Food 5

Service 5.2

Ambience 5.5

 

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Bravo24 at the W – Whale watching!

Bravo24 is the signature restaurant of the W Hotel in Barcelona’s marina and has its own private lift in the reception area. We entered the lift expecting to be whisked up to the 24th floor but alas it merely took us up one level to the sun terrace.

The location (if you are having lunch on the terrace) stops this restaurant from being a “destination restaurant”. This is mainly because of its child friendly nature and the fact you are directly overlooking the sun terrace which provides a stunning view of Frank Gehry’s ‘Peix d’Or’ bronze whale sculpture and the not so stunning views of some of the W’s guests basking in the sun.

The executive chef is Carles Abellan who is also responsible for Comerc 24, our No Expert Best of the Best award winner last year, so as expected the food is off a  high standard.  However it was a slightly mixed bag with some very good high end dishes, served along side some fairly basic grills.  I especially enjoyed the Cod salad which based on the menu description was not quite as expected as it was very refined indeed.  For our main course we went for the Veal, it was served with some lovely mash but alas as I’m not a huge fan of eating fat (I know some people like this sort of thing) I wasn’t able to clean my plate.

I would imagine that the atmosphere in the evening is very different, making this a more suitable fine dining experience, than our casual lunch.

However despite this criticism, we would say that Bravo 24 is a good place for lunch, especially if you are in the area and want to check out the W or relax in the foyer bar. However you will need to be aware of the damage it will do to your wallet.  Our lunch for example consisted of 3 courses and 3 glasses of wine at approx 70 euros per person.

Marks out of 10

Food 6.2

Service 6

Ambience 6

 

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Boho – clock it

Found an interesting cafe/bar in the Canterbury called Boho – it is right in the middle of the tourist area, but is still quirky enough to be interesting.

The decor in the back room is fun, very eclectic. I particular like the wall of retro clocks. They also have a small garden area.

The menu is quite diverse, tea/coffee and cakes, a selection of wines, and dishes that range from typical veggie/vegan fare to omnivore food like Chicken liver.

 

 

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Almeida – again

I made a return visit to Almeida for a friends birthday celebration (Happy Birthday Chris).  My last visit was during chocolate week, see post:- Almeida – not just for chocoholics

The restaurant is a very popular pre-theatre venue, so it was a bit more difficult on a Saturday night to get a seat in the bar area. The room is fairly large, but perhaps not ideal for big groups, our table was a bit cramped for 8 people.

On the food front the highlight was the charcuterie trolley service, which several of my companions ordered. This is something the Almeida is famous for reviving, it includes home made rillettes, terrines and patés served with homemade pickles and I must say that it provides for a fairly substantial starter. One I wished I had ordered. My venison salad was very nice, but it did not have the wow factor of the trolley service.

For my main course I had the rib eye steak with lovely fluffy pommes pont neuf – certainly the best Jenga chips I have had for a while!

The rest of the menu was fairly classic for this type of venue, it included oysters, duck, beef and suckling pig.

To finish the meal I had a surprisingly light pineapple tarte tartin. This dish takes 20 minutes to prepare as it is created from scratch – its worth the wait.

UPDATE : March 2010 – made a return visit and ordered from the charcuterie trolley; highly recommended.

 

 

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