Telephone number: 01545 561 844

Website: www.treath.co.uk

Date of visit: www.traeth.co.uk

Approximate cost per head: Two courses around £20 plus.

Comments on wine list/beer: Excellent wine list – short and good value.

Likes and dislikes: Everything good, however, I prefer my raw meat in smaller bits

Cuisine: Modern British, Steak and seafood restaurant

Previous review: 19 August 2010

Summary:

Another visit to what I considered to be one of the best steakhouse in GB. Well, I have eaten in steakhouses around the world especially in the US – Prime, Mortens, Sparks, Hy’s etc, so I believe that I am allowed to make this judgement.

The menu and wine list have slightly changed, Chef Nige Jones still there.

Lat year they had a 1999 Ch Musar (Lebanon) at under £20 a bottle. http://www.chateaumusar.com.lb/english/home.aspx

This year they have a 2006 Graves at £24.50 – the most expensive red on the list. We had a bottle – excellent wine.

Now onto the food.

Steak tartare and most of the cuts (hanger, sirloin etc) are still on the menu – the most expensive is the veal T bone at just over £21. The rest are all priced at under £20 including chips.

The fish selection was also very good. Turbot was on the menu but they ran out and skate wing with black butter was offered as a substitute. All the meat and fish are now sourced from sustainable stock, traceable source etc.

My friend had the crab spaghetti ( £13.95) which was highly rated.

I went for my usual steak tartare (£12.75) with french fries and a side salad (£3.50). However to my horror Chef Jones has changed the recipe. Instead of minced or chopped meat, you now have julienne. Still taste very nice but it doesn’t work from a digestion point of view as you have to really chew the meat or its stays in you stomach for hours like a very rare steak.

The chips were first class.

Later when Chef Jones was doing his round, I told him that I preferred my steak tartare minced or better still – coarsely chopped.

I also picked up a rumour that this could be Chef Jones’s last season at the Treath. Well, if you are in the area, go and have a steak with a decent bottle of wine.

E

Telephone number: (03) 6231 2121

Website: www.mures.com.au

Date of visit: 23 and 24 January 2011

Price guide: A$9.90 for a cooked breakfast at the Lower Deck. A$30 plus for a main course on the Upper Deck.

Comments on wine and beer: Normal Aussie list at normal mark-up (200-300%). Beers around A$7.

Cuisine: Lower Deck, all sorts incl sandwiches, cooked breakfast and various fish dishes. Upper Deck mainly fish (fried, grilled and deep fried), also couple of meat dishes.

Exchange rate: A$1 = £0.65

Summary:

Mures Lower Deck is open from 7.30 am for breakfast. At around $10, you get bacon, eggs and toasts. Tomatoes, bake beans and hash browns are available as side orders from around $3.

On the day I went, the eggs and toasts were great but I found the bacon a big fatty and they have not been cooked long enough for the fat to render but then the portions were big and the prices very reasonable. The location is also great as it is right on the water front.

Outside breakfast hours, they do sandwiches and various fish based dishes including sushi. Think supermarket sushi – however, the fish is very fresh.

Dinner at the Upper Deck was another story. The menu is nearly identical to that at the Drunken Admiral. The difference is the location and the views (Drunken Admiral has an internal view whilst this place offers an external view over the docks).

I had prawns and scallops in panko (a Japanese bread crumb) deep fried with chips ($35.9). The prawns were huge Australian Tiger Prawns and you get 6 on the plate. The scallops were smaller – about the size of a 10 pence coin (5 times as thick). However, they had roes with them. I asked the waitress why lobsters are not on the menu and the answer was that it was out of season and only frozen ones were available – they try not to use frozen fish. They also offer a huge fish platter for one ($110) which include a bit of everything off the deep fried menu.

Well, my conclusion was that this place was just like the Drunken Admiral. The menu is similar – I even had the same wine a bottle of NV 42 degrees sparkling ($38) – fast becoming my favourite Tasmanian sparkling. They are good at what they do but it is just an up market fish fryer!

E

PS They have their own fishing fleet. Most of the fish they sell are from their own catch. They also have a fish retail area at the back.

Telephone number: (03) 6234 1903

Website: www.drunkenadmiral.com.au

Date of visit: 20 January 2011

Price guide: Main courses from around A$30 onwards to over A$110 for the seafood platter for 2

Comments on wine and beer: extensive list of wine and beer at normal mark up

Cuisine: Seafood.

Exchange rate: A$1 = £0.65

Special note: Dinner only.

Summary:

The Drunken Admiral is positioned at the beginning of Hunter Street near the harbour.

There is a huge cast iron pot outside; big enough to cook seafood stew for a hundred. Inside, the place is decorated with all sorts of bric-a-brac from a human skeleton to the underside of a carriage. There are wooden mannequins around, all dressed up as seafarers. In fact, the place is so full of bits and pieces; you would think that you are in a maritime museum.

There are two dining rooms linked by a short corridor and all sorts of things were pinned up on a notice board – encased behind glass – near to the toilets, including a bill from Paul Boucuse’s Restaurant in Leon.

The best way to describe food here is that it is nearly all seafood –pan fried, grilled or deep fried served with French fries. The portions are huge and you get a free visit to the salad bar – beans, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, pepper etc with every meal.

I had the fisherman’s platter at $29.90. This turned out to be scallops, squid, mussels – in its shell – fish goujons, all bread crumbed and deep fried served in an abalone shell with enough chips for 2. The mayo that came with it was homemade. I also had a bottle of 42 degrees south – a local sparkling wine – at $38.5

Every table in the restaurant was taken and most had 2 sittings whilst I was there. There were plenty of  “English Cricket Supporters”. You can tell because they all wore the supporter’s shirt, had a bit of a gut, Rolex watches, and half of them had shaven heads and talked loudly throughout their meal on their mobile. I was one of them minus the shirt, gut and the hair cut.

Two people near me had the grilled octopuses which were marinated chunks of octopus done kebab style. Others had the seafood platter for 2 which had everything on the menu and chip for $113. By the way, they don’t do lobsters here but they have “bugs” which are similar in taste and texture.

If you like chips, deep fried food and large portions, this is definitely the place!

E

E

Telephone number: 016350247550

Website: http://www.crabatchieveley.com/

Date of visit: 5 April 2010

Approximate cost per head: Set lunch: £15.90 for 2 courses, £19.9 for 3 courses. A la carte @ £30+ for 2 courses. Deserts start at £8

Comments on wine list/beer: Interesting list. Ranges from around £20 to £1250 for the 1982 Mouton Rothchild. Best value is the Mondavi 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon at £97.

Summary:

On the day before we went, AA Gill reviewed The Crab in The Sunday Times and gave it one star out of five. Please note that he also didn’t like The French Horn. I remembered that he liked The Fat duck.

The restaurant is divided into 3 connecting rooms. On the day we went, only one of the room was full. By the way, it’s also a hotel and they do a weekend package.

We ordered three set lunches and two went for the a la carte. For the a la carte, we had black pudding  as a starter followed by Breast of Duck and Fish and Chips. Both the main courses had fat chips cooked in goose fat. My daughter thought that the chips were fantastic but I felt that it was not crisp – soft chips. It came unsalted – good! Both the duck and the fish were well cooked and very tasty. I was also given an expresso cup of pea puree sweetened with sugar.

From the set menu, the others had mackerel to start with followed by lamb, sea bass and salmon. They were all given good marks. The meats were served with a heavily reduced sauce.

 All the above were washed down with a couple of bottles of Albarino (£30 per bottle) from the Galicia region. Albarino is a great grape with seafood. It’s light and fresh (similar to pinot grigio) but is far more fruity and comes with a citrus tang. In fact Spanish Wines are great value in most restaurants.

For desert, two of us had the assiette which gives you match box size of nearly everything on offer. It’s on the menu at £14 for 2 people and can easily feed 4. Deserts are a highlight in this place.

Also on the a la caret menu were, plateau du fruits de mer at £44.50 for 2 and lobster thermidor at £39.90 – yes they like £0.9 as a pricing strategy here.

I have been going to The Crab for a number of years and  :

a)      it’s the only seafood restaurant in this area. There were others but they have not survived.

b)      It’s a bit hit and miss but on the whole it’s pretty good.

c)      You need to order sides with your meal. The vegetable that comes with the meal is non existence.

d)      Service can be a bit slow. Always go for the maitre’d and not the bread and water carriers.

I like the place. To me it’s a 3 star (out of 5) place.

E

PS They offer a nice basket of bread complete with butter , aioli and oil/balsamic vinegar – no extra charge.

Web site: http://www.livebaitrestaurants.co.uk/

Telephone number:

Date of visit: 28.01.10

Approx. cost per head: £20.00

Comments on wine list/beer: Good choice & not too many. all good with fish obviously.

Media link:

Review:

Specials looked rather homely and lovely but I opted for scallop risotto. Was gorgeous. My colleague ahd fish n chips which made me very jealous but not as many chips as I personally would have.
Wine was good.
Not at all stuffy.

Telephone number: 018886 833399

Website: www.bear.uk.com

Date of visit: 8 November 2009

Approximate cost per head: around £20

Comments on wine list/beer: Very good wine list for a pub and not a very good range of beer

Summary:
Went there with a few friends for lunch.

The first thing that struck me was that the pub was devided into two halves with a restaurant on one side and the “pub” side on the other – bar is in between. This is the first pub that I came across with “pristine white table clothes” in the restaurant.

The bar was serving only 2 types of real ales – as far as I can see – with about 4 other lagers and gassy beers. The real ales were London Pride and a“blonde” ale from Hobson. I had the “blond” ale –  from a hand pump and NOT a bottle. It tasted like a “summer” ale.

The food menu was extensive and although it was a Monday, it had a whole blackboard devoted to fish – sole, salmon, sea bass etc. I had the non-gluten fish and chips with mushy peas. Again, it’s the first time that I had a batter that had no gluten.

The batter was very crisp and the whole dish was priced at £10.75.

My friends has sea bass and the sole. I was pleased to see that it came with a large side dish full of vegetables and potatoes.

On the whole a nice experience but is this really a pub?

Eddie

Web site: www.zoocafe.com.au

Telephone number: 08 91936200

Date of visit: October 2009

Approx. cost per head: 65 Aussie $

Comments on wine list/beer: Excellent wine – deep creek, WA (sav blanc / semillion blend / Corona, Pure Blonde, Little Creatures

Review:

Went to try this very famous restuarant in Broome, in Northern tip of Western Australia
Very busy – booking essential
Starters excellent – grilled salt and pepper squid caught fresh that day / sweet chilli chicken salad with paw paw, pine nuts with balsalmic glaze

Mains – good size
Barramundi Steak with Cashew nuts and roasted pumpkin
Dukkah coated tuna on bed of spinach and egg plant (abourgine)

Service was slow but worth the wait as meals were cooked fresh

Extremely busy, even on week night, excellent bubbly atmosphere.
Fairly Expensive but reflects isolated location.

nevdavies@hotmail.com

Telephone number: +(1) 604 637 0388

Website: www.stonegrillvancouver.com

Date of visit: 30 October 2009

Approximate cost per head (2 courses): C$ 45

Comments on wine list/beer: Ok list, mainly American (North and South) and Canadian wines. Interesting list of bottle beers.

Summary:
This is a “new” restaurant with a fantastic view over False Crook.

The idea is that you have your main course cooked in front of you (by you) on a piece of super heated granite whilst you eat.

The granite came on a dish separated into 3 compartments. The stone was in the middle with the fish or meat on it and the side compartments had the potato and veg.

I had the Scallops and Prawns and with it came 2 super size chips, a single cauliflower, broccoli floret and a piece of pepper.

The meal came sizzling (yes, think Chinese or Indian sizzling dishes but with a stone in stead of a cast iron dish). However, the materials were raw and the stone retained its heat for over 30 minutes. I had to wait about 2 minutes for the food to cook but then here was the rub, the food will continue to cook so by the end of the meal, I had rubbery (over cooked) scallops and prawns. My companion had the steak which was a slab of 2 inch thick fillet. Again, the meat was raw to start with and was well done by the end of the meal.

I really don’t see the point of this style of cooking – it’s just a gimmick! The portions were over generous re the protein part and the “meats” came au nature – unmarinated or seasoned. On the night we went (Friday), the place was less than 20% full. I doubt very much as to whether it will still be here when I next visit Vancouver.

 Eddie@bottlesandcooks.com

Location: Les Cotis, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GU1 1UT

Web site: http://www.lafregatehotel.com/Restaurant/

Telephone number: 01481 724624

Date of visit: 12 October 2009

Approx. cost per head: £15.00

Comments on wine list/beer: drank water

Review:

Ate at Le Fregate during the pan- Channel Islands “Tennerfest”.  Excellent lunch, with an unbelievably clear and spectacular view from the restaurant across the rooftops of St Peter Port,  the harbour across to Herm and Sark set clear in a sparkling deep turquoise sea.

The room is all cool cream with black trim, simple but well furnished, leaving the wonderful view to make the statement.  Tennerfest lunch was great – main course of wild mushroom risotto with a simple poached egg and chervil garnish stood out as the texture and flavours were well judged.  First course of seafood fritters nearly hit the mark but the flavours were a little too backward.  Would definately eat there again, and imagine the night  time view would be spectacular too.

aliciaandrews@gmail.com

Location: 36-40 Brewer St, London, W1F 9TA

Web site: http://www.zillialdo.com/

Telephone number: 020 7734 8649

Date of visit: 8 October 2009

Approx. cost per head: £19.90

Comments on wine list/beer: Run of the mill London list and prices

Review:
I was looking forward to this as I have seen Aldo a lot on TV.

However, I was disappointed. The food was par for a Soho restaurant before the 8pm performance (theatre).

We had the set meal, mussels and sardines to start with. The sardines were in my humble view previously frozen. The mussels had a chilli kick which was unusual but pleasant. Main courses were sea beam on a bed of ratatouille and a sea food tagliatelle in a lobster bisque. The ratatouille turned out to be the highlight of the evening – perfectly cooked and not mushy. I wasn’t mad about the seafood ratatouille as it only had bits of tuna in it and no other fish.

We also had a bottle of house champagne (ok) and the poached pear for desert. The pear was poached in mulled wine – very acceptable.

The service was excellent but overall, the food didn’t give me a I want to come back feeling.

Eddie – eddie@bottlesandcooks.com