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Name of restaurant or pub: The White Horse at Parson’s Green
Location: 1-3 Parson’s Green, London SW6 4UL
Web site: http://www.whitehorsesw6.com/
Telephone number: 02077362115
Date of visit: 26 September 2009
Approx. cost per head: Around £20 for 2 courses
Comments on wine list/beer: A comprehensive list at a reasonably price
Review:
This pub is located in a prime spot on the Green – about 2 minutes walk from the underground. It’s open from 9.30 for breakfast and goes on till midnight at the weekend.
It is well patronised. When I got there around 2pm, it was packed. I had haddock and chips at £10.05 – it was very good (portion, presentation and taste) but someone on my table thought that his fish was a bit damp in the middle.
My other friends shared a cote de boeuf for 2 at £32 (Chateaubriand price). The beef was well cooked and look very nice but the outer meat had been removed which only leaves the rib eye. Excluding the bone, I think that there were around 12oz of meat which in my view was expensive and not big enough for 2. They were also mean on the fat chips with the steak.
A very interesting wine list which was the longest that I have ever seen in a pub. There were also an interesting range of real ales including a mild – don’t see this very often.
Good atmosphere.
Eddie – eddie@bottlesandcooks.com
Name of restaurant or pub: Anchor and Hope
Location: 36 The Cut, London, SE1 8LP
Telephone number: 02079289898
Date of visit: 23 September 2009
Approx. cost per head: £25
Comments on wine list/beer: Pretty average but high mark up
Review:
The place was packed at 5.30 when I arrived for a pre-theatre dinner. It was still packed when I walked after the show. This is one of the original gastropubs – i.e. no table cloth, worn down furniture but restaurant prices. Table sharing seems to be the norm here.
I had the cep rissoto which at £10 was cheesy, tasty and good value. Less so was the cheese – three thin slices of hard cheese + oakcakes and an apple for £7. I was in and out in 40 minutes.
On the same table, the “others” were having crayfish, cote de boeuf and rabbit stew. Everything looked excellent and the service was very good.The plates come “undecorated”.
I also had a bottle of Bergerac Rose at £22.50 which was ok but would have retailed for under a fiver.
Eddie – eddie@bottlesandcooks.com
Name of restaurant or pub: Old Vine
Location: Gt Minster St, Winchester, SO23 9HA
Web site: http://www.oldvinewinchester.com/
Telephone number: 01962854616
Date of visit: 16 September 2009
Approx. cost per head: £15
Comments on wine list/beer: Wide range of beer and wine – stick to the beer, wine list is pretty basic
Review:
Old Vine is a hotel cum restaurant cum pub in the middle of Winchester. The restaurant is on one side of the bar whilst the pub side takes on the other half. We were there at lunch time and the place was full – mainly the grey haired brigade – as its pretty good value for money.
The restaurant serves a mixture of food from Thai fish cakes to fish pie (special of the day). The cooking is sound but not spectacular – by this, I mean fancy stuff that you couldn’t manage in a domestic kitchen. There are some open air tables in the patio.
Eddie – eddie@bottlesandcooks.com
Name of restaurant or pub: Leith’s at English-Speaking Union (ESU)
Location: ESU, Dartmouth House, 37 Charles St, Mayfair, London W1J 5ED
Web site: http://www.esu.org/page.asp?p=2120
Telephone number: 02075291550
Date of visit: 5 August 2009
Review:
This could well be the best value lunch in Mayfair.
Compass Catering operates a Leith franchise within the ESU which is open to non members. The place serves lunch only at £15 for 2 courses. The day I went, I had soup and soile. Both excellent. The dishes do come with minimal trimmings but you can have a side order. The cooking is probably described as English witha European twist.
You can dine out in the patio on a sunny day.
Eddie – eddie@bottlesandcooks.com
Name of restaurant or pub: Pepe Sale
Location: Queens Walk, Reading RG1 7QF
Web site: http://www.pepesale.co.uk/
Telephone number: 0118 959 7700
Date of visit: 4 August 2009
Approx. cost per head: From under £10
Comments on wine list/beer: An interesting wine list with several good Sardinian wines
Review:
An Italian that majors on Sardinian cooking and have been around for 10 years. The pasta is very good and my favourite is spagetti bortega. They have a lunch time menu that is just over £5 for one course.
Marco, the manager is excellent and you can depend on him to find you a good wine at a resonably price. This is a friendly neighbourhood restaurant situated in the town centre near the Penta Hotel. There are some interesting dishes on the a la carte menu but my advice is to check the specials of the day – on a blackboard near the bar.
Eddie – eddie@bottlesandcooks.com
Name of restaurant or pub: Riverside Brasserie
Location: Bray Marina, Monkey Island Lane, Bray, Maidenhead, SL6 2EB
Web site: http://www.riversidebrasserie.co.uk/
Telephone number: 01628780553
Date of visit: 31 July 2009
Approx. cost per head: £35
Comments on wine list/beer: Good but expensive wine list
Review:
Out door eating – they do have in door tables – doesn’t come better than this on a warm sunny day. The Thames view, food, wine.
On the day I went, I had grilled squid followed by lemon sole with cabbage and triple cooked chips (anyone who had done time under Heston Blumenthal has triple cooked chips on their menu) and a bottle of pink Tattinger (James Bond’s champagne – book not film!)
The food here is really good but portions are a bit on the small side for the price they charge. Parking is 10 meters from the restaurant amongst the boats.
The restaurant is only open during the warmer months so check before you go.
Eddie – eddie@bottlesandcooks.com
Name of restaurant or pub: Nags Head
Location: 21 Bank St, Malvern Link WR14 2JG
Web site: None
Telephone number: 01684574373
Date of visit: 12 September 2009
Approx. cost per head: Less than £10 for pub food
Comments on wine list/beer: Amazing array of beers
Review:
You go there to drink – take a tee total friend to drive. Park opposite the pub on the road.
There were beers from Kent and Cornwall and we are near Worcester! Drink halves so that you can try a variety.
Food is average pub food. I had the fish and chips which was ok. They offer brown and white bread for sandwiches. There is a restaurant but there was nobody neating in it – saturday lunch time?
Eddie – eddie@bottlesandcooks.com
Name of restaurant or pub: Browns
Location: The Oldcornmill, South Quay, Worcester WR1 2JJ
Web site: http://www.brownsrestaurant.co.uk/
Telephone number: 0190526263
Date of visit: 11 September 2009
Approx. cost per head: From £10.75
Comments on wine list/beer: Excellent value with some really decent wines
Review:
This is set in a converted warehouse by the river. Its a bit better decorated than St John’s in London.
The food is modern European and there is an array of menus ranging from Express Lunch (£10.75 for 2 courses), fixed price lunch and dinner to a la carte.
The day I went, I had Caesar salad followed by a broad bean and pea risotto off the express menu. Both were pretty good.
The wine list is really good value and I nearly went for the Ch Gloria 1970 at £85. But then, for a St Julian Cru Bourgeois, it could be 10 years too far even though 1970 was a great year for Gloria.I might go back and just try it to see if I am right.
There is a public car park round the corner.
Eddie – eddie@bottlesandcooks
Name of restaurant or pub: Gay Hussar
Location: 2 Greek St, Soho, London W1D 4NB
Web site: http://www.gayhussar.co.uk/
Telephone number: 0207 437 0973
Date of visit: 24 August 2009
Approx. cost per head: £25
Comments on wine list/beer: Reasonably priced, around £20
Review:
This is the grand daddy of all “political” restaurants.You go for the history and the food is OK.
There are private rooms for hire upstairs and when we went, there was a whole stream of people coming for Mr Spencer’s lunch party.
The placed is covered with cartoons of the great and good who had dined there – nearly anyone who was old labour ate and met there. OK Churchill was not labour!
The food is old fashion hungarian cooking and the main staples – goulash (both as a soup or stew), snitzels, pancake etc are all there.
For wine, drink the bulls blood – it will bring back memories of when you are a student – if you are in my age group.
The place is tiny and service can be a bit slow. It is always full of pre-show diners from 5.30pm. They have a fixed price lunch (2 courses for £17) and a 20% discount on the a la carte for pre-theatre dinner.
Don’t forget to go to the toilet and see all the photographs on the staircase wall – e.g. Gordon Brown who has a photo there but not a cartoon – I think!
Eddie – eddie@bottlesandcooks.com
Name of restaurant or pub: Ty Thai
Location: South John St, New Quay, SA45 9NN
Web site: http://www.ty-thai.com/36105.html
Telephone number: 01545 560400
Date of visit: 18 August
Approx. cost per head: £15 – £20
Comments on wine list/beer: From around £15, reasonable choice
Review:
I would never expect to find a “healthy” Thai in New Quay, Wales. But there it is – its upstairs only!
The menu offers an “artificial sugar” version so its a great boon to diabetes or those that want fewer calories.
The food is right up there with the top Thais that I have been to outside Thailand but there is no staple like Pad Thai. Apparently, the owners went and lived in Thailand for sometime to “learn” to cook Thai dishes.
Beware of the chillies. When they say its hot, they mean it.
It is not easy to park in New Quay town centre. Park outside town and walk in.
Eddie – eddie@botlesandcooks.com