Address: Maidensgrove, Nr Henleyon-Thames, Oxon, RG9 6EX

Telephone number: 01491 641 282

Website: www.thefivehorseshoes.co.uk

Date of visit: 27 July 2010

Approximate cost per head: Around £20 for 2 courses

Comments on wine list/beer: Brakspear (£3 a pint of ordinary). Wines list is simple but good on French and reasonably priced

Summary:

This pub is in the middle of nowhere. It is impossible to come across it by accident. In fact, you have to go out of your way to look for it.

It is sited down a single track road off  B480 at Stoner. Although the address is Maidensgrove, you actually go pass Maidensgrove and aim for Upper Maidensgrove.

The restaurant/pub is listed in several guides including Sawday’s and Harden’s – so I thought that I’ll check it out.

Outside the pub are an array of wooden tables – well spaced apart. Inside there are 2 bars and a restaurant.

The menu is pretty British and Countryside. There are venison and steak on the menu – a single pager. I went for the doorstop sandwich (£7.50) – I asked for smoked ham but am sure that I got roast pork instead.

The sandwich came as two halves of multigrain bread stuffed with salad and meat. The sandwich is served on a wooden board with a side salad of undressed continental leaves. You also get a bowl of chips.

The chips must be one of the best thick cut chips I have ever eaten. They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. They were not broken down on the edge through over boiling like triple cooked chips.

I noticed that they were also advertising pizza from the wood burning oven – only available at weekends.

I have to admit that I was impressed and will soon be back to test out the pizza and the main menu.

I will also take this opportunity to warn you about the road – it is very narrow and dangerous when it’s dark.

E

Address: High Street, Ombersley, Worcester W9 0EW

Telephone number: 01905 620552

Website: N/A

Date of visit: 17 July 2010

Approximate cost per head: Fixed price set meals only. Evening £36 for 3 courses, coffee and petit fours. Lunch £26 for 3 courses. No added service charge.

Comments on wine list/beer: Fairly extensive list well served by the New Worlds. Wines from around £20 to over £100. Mark up around 300%

Summary:

This is my first visit in the evening.

As usual, the place is packed and even managed to get 2 sittings on certain tables.

The Venture In describes itself as a French restaurant and it’s old school cooking. There is a lot of heavily reduced sauces and  cream. This is not a place to come if you are on a diet. The cooking is very similar to The Forbury Restaurant in Reading but at about £20 per head cheaper.

Two stories about the Venture In. Firstly, this is apparently one of Margaret Thatcher’s favourite restaurant. She now visits it about twice a year with her police escort. Her picture is fondly displayed in the bar. The other story is that the chef used to be at the Worcester Golf Club but his cooking was considered too “intricate” for the members taste.

On the night we went, we had the twice baked soufflé, soup and gravadlax. The soufflé which appears regularly was deemed as good as ever. My “home” cured gravadlax was what you expect – no more, no less. On the plus side – it was not heavily dilled and over sugared.

My main course of loin of lamb was served as noisette with a kidney tart – chopped and fried lamb’s kidneys in a pastry bottom. The lamb in my view had too much fat rolled around it. As it was served pink, the fat had not been rendered. Maybe the fat was unnecessary.

What I like about this place is that although you plate comes well decorated, vegetables are provided on the side, so you do not end up with two peas and a centimetre of carrot. They usually provide a generous helping of some vegetables deep fried with a coating of breadcrumb and a green vegetable. We had courgettes and carrots with breadcrumbs and green beans.

My friends had confit of duck and sole in a narge enriched with cream. The plates were clean at the end – a testament to the cooking?

For deserts we had chocolate mousse and crème boulee.

We had two bottles of wine. A Montagne 2005 at £30 was light and refreshing. We then had a Lebanese red at £24 which was on the acid side.

E

Address: 5 Prospect Street, Caversham, Reading RG4b 8JB

Telephone number: 01189463400

Website: http://www.myalacarte.co.uk/

Date of visit: 21 July 2010

Approximate cost per head: Set meal £10.50 for one course, £13.50 for 2 and £16.95 for b3 courses . Available : Mon – Sun for lunch and Mon-Wed for dinner and also Thur-Sat before 7pm. Check out the Website if you are not clear.

Comments on wine list/beer: Reasonably prices wines. Several good ones at under £20. Beer is from Loddon Brewery

Summary:

My friend A took me there as we have not met up for a long time.

Apparently, the winner of The Apprentice’s (2008) brother runs it – a bit of useless information.

As soon as we sat down, we were offered tap water – none of this sparkling or still nonsense. I was also quite impressed by the set meal which is available most of the time and it changes daily.

We ordered goat cheese salad and duck gizzard salad followed by chicken oysters with sauté new potatoes and courgette.

Let’s start with the salad, they were pretty substantial. My gizzard salad had heart, liver and kidneys in it. All very tasty but it was all cooked well done – not pink. But then this is Reading and the tastes are much more conservative.

The main course was in fact a chicken thigh with the back (oysters) attached and not morsels of chicken oyster meat. The potatoes and courgettes were more a la plancha than sautéed. It came with a thin gravy.

The meal was accompanied by a bottle of Rioja Red crianza 2005 @ £18.50.

My overall conclusion was that it was a good meal and a little gem.

By the way, the menu also offered pork scratching for £2.50 or bread. I have never ever come across this as a separate menu item anywhere in the world.  

E

Address: Basement 115-117 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000, Victoria, Australia

Telephone number: +61 3 9639 1553

Website: www.fifteenmelbourne.com.au

Date of visit: 15 July 2010

Approximate cost per head: A$ 50 plus for 2 courses

Comments on wine list/beer: N/A

Summary:

Judging by the media coverage and hype that this place opened up to, it appears that Jamie Oliver’s celebrity status is no less down under than it is in the UK. His books are best-sellers down here, and his toothy grin adorns billboards and TV screens across the country on what feels like an alarming frequency.

The restaurant concept here is no different to the other ‘Fifteens’ in existence (this one being the fourth opening after Hoxton in London, Amsterdam and Watergate Bay in Cornwall. The principle being that the restaurant offers apprenticeship opportunities in catering and hospitality to disadvantaged young people. The restaurants then seek to raise awareness of the importance of nutritious food and cooking. 

It’s an admirable cause, and it’s one than I am happy to support, yet I’m still not convinced that it works. This was my third Fifteen experience, having previously dined at the original estabishment in London, and then Cornwall. My issue is not about the concept, or even the food, but it’s the service – or lack of it judging by my experiences – that let’s it down.

Taking a group of essentially young kids, most of whom have never cared one jot about service and delivery and then teach them the benefits of nutrition and eating well, that’s fine. But serving people, showing empathy and customer understanding are interpersonal skills that generally come about as a consequence of education, discipline or breeding. And on my evidence I’ve just not seen it. Front of house is usually fine and welcoming, and you are shown to your table (or seat at the communal dining bar in my recent Melbourne visit), and then it starts to go downhill. I ask for a beer which comes quickly, then wait for what seems an eternity before eventually attracting someones attention just to ask for a menu!

The menu follows the Fifteen formula of half-a-dozen dishes in each of three sections, antipasti, primi and secondi. Antipasti and primi dishes are priced around $20 each (approx 14 GBP), while secondi mains are priced around $35 (approx 23 GBP). I order a Yellowfin Tuna starter ‘prepared three ways’, followed by a Jerusalem artichoke risotto with Hervey Bay scallops crisp pancetta and sorel cress. To accompany I order a glass of Grosset Watervale Riesling – to be served with my main course.

The tuna starter arrives fairly promptly, and comprises tartare, bresaola and carpaccio. The bresaola is very dry and too salty, thankfully I still had some beer to wash it down with. The carpaccio was delicious, and the tartare beautifully prepared, so two-out-of-three not bad.

I then wait, and wait, and wait for my main. Even the belated arrival of the white wine wasn’t accompanied or immediately followed any food. I ask politely what has happened to my main. Not my original server, always a mistake. Clearly the message didn’t register. I ask what looks like a more important apprentice. As my seat is close to the openview kitchen I can see an agitated discussion taking place, clearly my order has not been made. No apology, just an offer of more bread. Close to an hour after my starter the risotto arrives straight from the hob, still steaming. Sadly the wait wasn’t rewarded with a worthwhile flavour experience. The risotto was ok, but that’s all I could say about it, it wasn’t well seasoned, quite bland in fact, although the crispy pancetta was nice and the scallop nicely caramelised.

A strong coffee followed, along with the bill. Again no apology for the slow service, so despite admiration for the cause and my normally charitable nature I decide not to add a tip. I left disappointed, just as I had the first time in London, and for the very same reason. Cornwall had built my belief back up after a lovely dinner there with my wife and a couple of good friends. Fifteen Melbourne has got me all confused again! Sorry Jamie, but this wasn’t pukka!

Paul Plant

Address: 40-44 Little Bourke St, Melbourne 3000,Victoria, Australia

Telephone number: +61 3 9671 3151

Website: www.longrain.com.au

Date of visit: 14 July 2010

Approximate cost per head: N/A

Comments on wine list/beer: N/A

Executive chef: Martin Boetz

Summary:

From business lunch to business dinner, only this time a little less formal, more like an after-work ‘beer and a bite’ catch-up instead of any deep and detailed discussions around strategy and tactics etc.

Thankfully the offices I am working in are centrally located, and downtown Melbourne offers the diner a smorgasboard of cuisine choices from pretty much anywhere on the planet. If anything there is a bias towards Asian/Pacific flavours with Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese among the more prolific. Tonight we opt for the popular and highly-rated Longrain, which describes itself as a contemporary Thai/Asian restaurant.

The ‘hip and welcoming’ restaurant fills a 100-year-old converted warehouse smack in the middle of Melbourne’s Chinatown. The space is expansive, with a large island bar surrounded by both long and circular communal tables intended to offer ‘banquet-style’ dining (their words not mine). Like many Asian restaurants, and also many other non-Asian restaurants in Melbourne, the emphasis here is on sharing, the intention being that you each order something different, then share the taste experience, ensuring a correct balance of hot, sour, salty and sweet flavours.

So what of the food? Starter choices were limited to just three: oysters, or two variations of betel leaf, one topped with smoked trout chilli roasted gallangal garlic and trout roe, or prawn peanuts mint and chilli paste. There were three of us dining and while one went for the trout, two went for the prawn. Wow! What an explosion of flavour on the palate. I chose the betel leaf with prawn, which was ‘gone in 60 seconds’ – a true taste sensation, and so good we immediately ordered another. At approx 4 GBP a mouthfull however we reluctantly declined the chance to order more.

Abiding by the sharing mantra, we each chose a different main dish, ending up with a fish, pork and duck combination, accompanied by rice, sticky long grain of course. Our dishes came out from the open-view kitchen in reverse order, beginning with a salad of braised duck with sweet fish sauce pomelo ginger and flat leaf coriander, shortly followed by twice-cooked suckling pig with squid ginger and chilli salad. All conversation stopped – this food was far too good to interrupt! Then came the fish, a red curry of ruby snapper with baby corn thai basil and fried shallots, the sticky rice proving an excellent sponge for the red curry sauce.

Judging by the lack of chat and the speed with which the plates were emptied, I concluded that my two dining partners had found the food as tasty and satisfying as myself. We took little persuading to carry on with a sampler plate of the restaurants sweet dishes, and boy were they sweet!

It’s the one thing about Asian cuisine, the desserts rarely match the breadth of flavours and textures that one typically enjoys in say a decent French or Italian eaterie. That doesn’t mean that what we were served in Longrain was disappointing, however you did need to like coconut (included in four of the six), and have a very very sweet tooth. In truth the puddings were fascinating creations, but to have included some sharpness or palate cleansing morsels would have been a better conclusion for me.

The meal was washed down with ice cold Kirin and Sapporo beer, and surprisingly for an Asian restaurant the coffee was beautifully roasted and rich.

Overall, a superb meal, innovative menu, beautifully presented food, with wonderful flavours, and very attentive but not over-the-top service. I would definitely recommend.

Paul Plant

Address: 80 Bourke Street,Melbourne 3000, Victoria, Australia

Telephone number: +61 3 9662 1811

Website: www.grossi.com.au

Date of visit: 13 July 2010

Approximate cost per head:  N/A

Comments on wine list/beer: N/A

Summary:

Whilst on business in Melbourne I was fortunate enough to be taken to lunch at what is widely considered by the local food afficionados as the city’s quintessential Italian restaurant.

Located in the Central Business District (CBD), in the vibrant Bourke Hill Precinct, close to Chinatown, the restaurant endures an iconic local and country-wide reputation. Followers of the Australian food scene together with celebrities, captains of business and visiting dignitaries jostle for a table in order to enjoy the fabulous food and enduring Italian Hospitality served up by celebrity chef Guy Grossi and his expertly organised team.

The service is slick yet unhurried, conscious that some business diners do have to return to their desks in the afternoon, although there were plenty of diners around us who clearly had no such intention. The menu offers a broad range of options across as many courses as you have time, appetite or budget for. For us it was just entrees and mains, which was plenty for a business lunch.

The homebaked grissini and breads, served with beautifully aromatic olive oil soon got the tastebuds worked up in anticipation for my starter of oxtail risotto. The portion was a decent size – it could have easily satisfied many people as a main course, however it set me up perfectly for my main of grilled crispy-skin hapuka with braised shallots and salsa, served with a side of steamed spinach. Hapuka is a member of the grouper family and is common to the waters of New Zealand. It has beautiful white flesh and a flavour not too dissimilar to sea bass, although the cut is slightly thicker. The skin was delightfully crispy, almost a fishy equivalent of pork crackling, and the salsa accompaniment really worked well.

We accompanied the meal with a deliciously refreshing South Australian Riesling (sorry, but the name escapes me), deliciously dry yet with plenty of depth and nice, clean fruit.

I wasn’t paying the bill, yet from a glance at the menu the prices, whilst not extortionate, suggest that this is somewhere you come to celebrate, to reward yourself, to impress, or just to pay homage to a chef with an obvious passion for excellence. The restaurant prides itself on its sustainability philosophy, together with a commitment to source best ingredients produced by like-minded local suppliers. There was plenty of Italian flair and technique on show, accompanied with some nice innovative touches.

Definitely a place to return to, only next time I fear I might be the one who’s paying!

Paul Plant

PS The restaurant is open from 7.30 till late

Address: 59-63 Queensway, London W4 4QH

Telephone number: 0207 229 6065

Website: N/A

Date of visit: 13 June 2010

Approximate cost per head: £10

Comments on wine list/beer: basic wine list, Tsing Tao beer £2.90 per bottle

Summary:

This restaurant has been around for over 30 years. I used to eat here on a regular basis in the 80s as it’s one of the few decent (authentic) Chinese (Cantonese) restaurants outside Soho that served dim sum. It was easy to park in the evenings and at weekends along Hyde Park.

At the beginning of 2008, the place suddenly closed down – was it a tax or debt problem? It re-opened some three months later under “new” owners. The staff were exactly the same. (Updated on 27 July 2010 http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100727/tuk-mouse-jumps-from-bowl-in-restaurant-6323e80.html .Well, that was bad news!)

I have not been for a few years and was looking forward to visiting it again.

The place looked nearly the same – the only change being at the back near the staircase – there is a new bar/serving counter.

The menu  looked different to what I remembered.

We had spring rolls (£3.80) and deep fried won ton (£6) , chicken with onion and ginger (£7.20), mixed meat BBQ (char siu, belly of pork and roast duck) (£8.00), choy sum with garlic (£7.20), special fried rice (£5.20), crispy noodle with chicken (£5.50 and Ho Fun Malay Style (£6.50). With a couple of beers, coke and tea, the bill came to £70.20 with service.

Let start with the positives, the service was efficient, friendly and quick, the food cheap and some of the dishes were very good – mixed meat BBQ, choi sum, fried rice and noodles.

However, the starters were poor, the deep fried won ton hardly had any fillings within the skin – we were paying £8 for a plate of deep fried won ton skins. Fresh won ton skins are £1.50 for 50 sheets in a Chinese supermarket.

The spring rolls used to be good here but its now the frozen type that you get in a Chinese supermarket. How can I tell? Factory prepared samosas and spring rolls have a somewhat mushy interior – this allowed the machine to pipe the content into an envelop (skin). Hand made ones are dry inside and the ingredients are shredded not chopped. The next disappointment was the Ho Fun. According to the Chinese characters in the menu, it’s chow kwai tu. This is seafood ho fun cooked in a curry paste – similar to Singapore noodles. However the version we got was dry fried ho fun (normally with beef) with a few prawns and chillies added. The colour should be yellow because of the turmeric but this version was brown. When I asked the manager he said that this is their version. Well, I hate it when restaurants sell you bastardised version of something and did not clearly state it in the menu.

Was the meal overall all right – I guessed so but this is not the restaurant I used to know.

 By the way, they still serve dim sum during lunch time.

E

Address: 122 Jermyn Street, London SW1 4UJ. Corner of Jermyn Street and Regent Street.

Telephone number: 0207839 2020

Website: http://www.noura.co.uk/

Date of visit: 13 July 2010

Approximate cost per head: £30 plus for several courses.

Comments on wine list/beer: Beer is £4 per half pint. Expensive wine list with decent Lebanese wines.

Summary:

This is part of a chain. The dining room is fairly modern.

As it was lunch time, we all had the large selection of mezze.  The large selection offers 6 different cold starters. They all came on one plate (normal size) with 2 types of hummus (one with pomegranate seeds), green beans in an onion and tomato sauce, one kebe, one falafel and a dollop of  tabbule. You also get warm Arab bread.

It was not a bad meal but the tabbule and the green beans were too lemony which ended up making the various components taste the same as they were all on the same plate. The portions were also on the small side.

I do not understand why Lebanese restaurants are so expensive when compared with Turkish restaurants. The dishes are similar – ok, the Turks don’t do kebe and Lebaneses don’t do Iman Bayildi – but the rest are very similar. We could have a similar dish at Ozer in Mayfair for around £10. Please also note that we could also get a 2 course lunch in quite a few restaurants in the area for less than £20 per head.

Service was efficient and friendly.

E

Address: 58 Kingsway, London WC2B 6DX

Telephone number: 02072695171

Website: http://www.allbarone.co.uk/

Date of visit: 7 July 2010

Approximate cost per head: All main courses around £10. Drinks around £3+

Comments on wine list/beer: Pretty comprehensive for a wine bar (or pub?)

Summary:

We were on our way to The Royal College of Surgeons and wanted a quick lunch somewhere. This one is right on the corner with Kinsway.

I have been to All Bar One (in several other locations – it’s a chain operated by Mitchells and Butlers) before but only for drinks. They all look the same with wooden tables and one or two sofas.

I was mildly surprised by this branch in Kingsway. To start with, its waitress service for both drinks and food – you can elect to get your own drinks at the bar and not pay a tip (at your discretion).

The food is chalked up on the board. There is also a menu. The food menu is essentially, burgers, fish and chips, cooked breakfast. In fact, there is a slant towards brunch.

For drinks, we had a pint of Estrella (£3.60), a glass of house merlot (£3.25) and an orange juice (£2).

For food, we had the tempura Cod and Chips (£8.95) and Egg Florentine (£4.95). The fish was fine so is the chips (not over salted) but I found the pea puree a bit bland. The tarter sauce was fine. The portions were pretty good size.

The overall bill was £22.75 which is very good value for money. I would definitely visit another one for a quick bite.

E

Address: 35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE

Telephone number: 020 7405 3474

Website: http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/content

Date of visit: 7July 2010

Approximate cost per head: N/A

Comments on wine list/beer: The bar offers several wines by the glass. No bitter on tap – only Fosters or Guinness. Bottle beer is limited. Reasonable range of spirits.

Summary:

I was invited to a function held in the “hall”.  

They do have catering facilities and accommodation on site but it is only open to members/fellows or their relatives/guest.

The “hall” is wood panelled and the walls are covered in paintings of “great men” in the field of surgery. At the back of the hall, there is a painting depicting Henry VIII giving the charter to the Guild of Barbers and Surgeons.

The wines on offer were a South Africa cabernet sauvignon and an Australian chardonnay. Both were ok but it’s not something that I would rush out to buy. In fact, I have never had a decent banquet wine except when I went to a Chavalier du Tastvin dinner held at the Chateau du Clos de Vougeot. You get 7 wines with 7 courses. The down side is that its black tie and you need to keep your jacket on in an overheated room.

Onto the Royal College of Surgeons of England. There were around 200 guests for dinner composing of people from different races and religions. I was wondering how they were going to cope with the different diet requirements.

The starter was:

Ravioli of pickled Cheltenham beetroot with goats cheese mousse and pea puree.

This is an inspiration, and it works. It is basically thin slices of beetroot with goats cheese in between (think lasagne), covered in a slightly sweetened pea puree. It is visual and tasty.

Next was a vegetarian selection or  Supreme of halibut, provencale herb crust and poached asparagus. It came with a few sliced up runner beans and a spoonful of mashed potato under the halibut. Again, it worked. The halibut had a herb crust and was grilled. No sauce was supplied.

Finally, we were offered a Kentish strawberry and mint tart covered in heather honey ice cream.

Overall, it was a very simple dinner but it was of a highish quality and it would accommodate most diets.

E