Tag Archives: Restaurant

Valzner Weiher Restaurant (Nuremberg)

15 Monday Oct 2018

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Our visit to the Valzner Weiher Restaurant was part of our German Road trip (that page has links to all the hotels, restaurants and places visited).

We were staying at the Hilton Nuremberg – a hotel way outside the centre of Nuremberg and not many nearby restaurants to choose from. The Valzner Weiher looked like a good place, set in the middle of a picturesque park with a lake.

 

Inside was a classic German restaurant.

And outside was a great terrace, although we sat inside as the whole of Germany seemed to be plagued by wasps (August 2018) and we also wondered about mosquitoes from the lake.

The staff were friendly. A Bier Herrnbrau was 3.80 €. A Wiener schnitzel was 16.80 €.

Salmon 16.20 €.

The food was okay, nothing amazing – during our week’s road trip, I learned that German food is still trapped in the 1980s. It’s sort of quaint in a way.

If you happen to find yourself at the Hilton Nuremberg, then it’s worth a walk round to Valzner Weiher – but there’s no reason to travel from Nuremberg centre unless you’re desperate to dine by a lake.

Valzner Weiher
Valznerweiherstr. 111
90480 Nürnberg

Tel: +49 09 11 40 44 24
E-Mail: info@valzner-weiher.de

Open daily: 11:30 – 22:00

http://www.valzner-weiher.de/

 

Jacob’s Restaurant, Prague, Czech Republic

11 Thursday Oct 2018

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Jacob’s Restaurant now occupies the space that used to be Oliva Restaurant. Oliva wasn’t a bad place but suffered by being too expensive for a mid-week night, not quite good enough for a Saturday.

Jacob’s seem to have remedied the cost element with a reasonably-priced menu – well except for the wine which is completely out of step.

The interior has been re-decorated – the old Oliva wallpaper replaced with fake brick wallpaper.

A Hubertus 0.5l beer (yes, I hadn’t seen this beer before in Prague either) was only 39Kč. It’s a pretty good beer.

Fish and chips was 210 Kč and was good pub food.

The flank steak with a slightly odd jacket potato good value at 290 Kč.

The cheapest bottle of red Czech wine was 360 Kč. The cheapest glass of non-Czech wine was 130Kč – I think that was Montepulciano. I have no idea why they have priced the beer so well but completely over priced the wine. On a really positive note – tap water is free.

Just like everywhere else in Prague these days, they offer a selection of burgers.
20th October 2018 update: We tried a burger last night and were pretty disappointed. The bun wasn’t good. The meat dry. It’s a pity as I really expected the burgers to be good based on the other food they serve. So we won’t be having another burger here – will stick with Maso je Maso for that.

We’ll certainly return to Jacob’s and I think it has a good chance of survival – let’s just hope they make the wine affordable.

Jacob’s Restaurant
Plavecká 404/4,
Praha 2 128 00

+420 222 520 288

https://www.jacobsrestaurant.cz/

Open every day: 11:00 – 23:00

Mount Everest Indian Restaurant, Berchtesgaden, Germany

05 Friday Oct 2018

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Our visit to the Mount Everest Indian Restaurant was part of our German Road trip (that page has links to all the hotels, restaurants and places visited).

We were staying at the Hotel AlpinaRos – Demming which didn’t have any food available in the evening. Despite the pouring rain, we left the hotel and walked up a hill to what could be called the High Street in Berchtesgaden.

There wasn’t much available, although we did almost go for a Greek Restaurant http://www.akropolis-berchtesgaden.de/ and now I wish we had!

The entrance to Mount Everest looked inviting with tables set in open-air corridor.

The interior was okay.

Beer was 3.50 € a bottle – the menu showed the bottles as being 0.5l but only the dark beer came as a 0.5l, the regular was something like 0.4l. I just ordered dark beer as my second beer. We also ordered a 0.7l bottle of water.

Papadums were 2.50 € each – we ordered three and they came with some pickles. Sadly the papadums weren’t good – really oily and we hardly ate any. We told the friendly, middle-aged German waitress about the papadums but they remained on our bill.

The chicken curry 14.90 € wasn’t bad – but really nothing special.

We paid the bill, which seemed a little high – I later realised why. The 0.7l bottle of water had been changed at an outrageous 6.90 €. I really hate it when restaurants inflate the prices of items that customers order without thinking. Even if the papadums had been okay, I’d never return here because of that sneaky rip off.

If you find yourself in Berchtesgaden, don’t climb this mountain ‘just because it’s there’!

Mount Everest
Kälbersteinstraße 4
83471 Berchtesgaden

Phone: 08652/65 77506

Monday: Closed
Tuesday Sunday: 11: 30-14: 30 • 17: 30-22: 30
In October and November 2017 open only in the evening.

http://www.mounteverest-restaurant.de/

Palm Beach Bar and Restaurant, Stuttgart

18 Tuesday Sep 2018

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Our visit to the Palm Beach Bar was part of our German Road trip (that page has links to all the hotels, restaurants and places visited).

We were staying at the Hilton Garden Inn Stuttgart. The hotel is in the grounds of the Mercedes Benz Arena – home to Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart and there aren’t many restaurants within walking distance.

The Palm Beach Bar is behind the hotel and a one minute walk away – it looked like a cheesy version of TGI Fridays. As it was the Palm Beach Bar was pretty good.

There are big screens everywhere for showing sports. We were happy to watch a great game of football, the first game of the Bundesliga season where Bayern Munich beat Hoffenheim 3-1.

We had a Thai Curry and a Pizza

Both good pub grub dishes. Service was good and prices were okay.

If you find yourselves nearby the Mercedes Arena and you’re not looking for fine-dining, then you’ll be okay at the Palm Beach Bar.

Palm Beach Bar
Mercedes street 73B
70372 Stuttgart

https://www.palmbeach-stuttgart.de/

0711/16 22 11 99

Das Meisterstück Restaurant, Berlin, Germany

05 Wednesday Sep 2018

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Our visit to Das  Meisterstück in Berlin was part of our German Road trip (that page has links to all the hotels, restaurants and places visited).

Das Meisterstück specialises in beer and sausages. They have several restaurants in Berlin – we visited the Berlin Mitte location, just a few minutes walk from the Hilton Hotel Berlin.

It was a Tuesday night in August and the indoor part of the restaurant was almost empty – most people were in the courtyard garden. The plague of wasps that we’d found in Berlin made us decide against the garden – but the inside was fine.

A 0.4l beer was €3.70. Both our waiter and waitress was really friendly and helpful, despite our limited German. Our waiter had such good English that I accused him of being English and pretending to be German. We asked for traditional sausage dishes.

Blutwurst with Sauerkraut €11. This was pretty good.

Curry wurst €7.50. Well the 1970s called and asked for their food back! The sausage was good, but the ‘curry’ was just ketchup with curry powder sprinkled on top – although the powder was sprinkled in the shape of Das Meisterstück logo.

We then decided to try Thüringer – looked similar to black pudding €9.50. It tasted like black pudding but was much softer.

The bathroom was interesting – with a large picture of a woman wearing sausage, bacon and egg.

If you’re looking for friendly place near Berlin Mitte and want to try some German sausages, then I’d recommend Das Meisterstück.

Das Meisterstück Restaurant
Hausvogteiplatz 3-4
10117 Berlin​

Tel. +49 30 55 872 562

Open every day from noon to midnight

https://www.dasmeisterstueck.de/berlinmittecraftbeer

Patara Thai Restaurant, Wimbledon Village, England

09 Thursday Aug 2018

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Patara have six London and five international restaurants – the first opened 25 years ago in London. We chose the recently-added Wimbledon Village location for my Mother’s 90th birthday celebration.

We booked a table in the attractive walled garden, but soon found it was too hot and also had some evil wasps flying around.

So we moved inside and were quite happy there.

Wheelchair access was a slight problem as the main entrance has steps – wheelchair users are asked to use the rear garden gate. Unfortunately, the gate was blocked by someone’s car, so two waiters kindly lifted the chair up the steps.

A bottle of Prosecco was £29.50. Pint of Singha beer £6. 250ml Glass of Merlot £8.40. My Mum’s favourite Malibu and Lemonade (well at 90 I guess there’s no shame in whatever you want to drink!) £6. Tap water was free.

To start I chose Chor Muang – Handcrafted lilac dumplings with caramelised chicken and peanut. Finished with coconut cream. £9.50. These were the closest thing to dim sum I could find on the menu.

They were unusual in appearance, but delicious. I won’t describe everyone’s choices as I only took pictures of my own!

For a main, I chose Lime & Chilli Sea Bass – Herb steamed sea bass in a light and piquant chilli-garlic sauce infused with fresh herbs. £18.80.

The fish was excellent – the chilli pretty spicy.

Pudding was home-made Thai mango cheese cake with Madagascan vanilla ice cream. £8.50.

I’m pretty sure I liked that, although I’d had quite a few drinks at that point.

All four of us enjoyed our time in Patara – the food, the ambience and the friendly Thai waiting staff all really good. Total bill was £228.67 including a 12.5% service charge that was automatically added – I was fine with that.

I’m still a fan of those little Thai bring-your-own-booze places that inhabit, what in the day is, a greasy spoon café – but if you feel like some upscale Thai dining then you’ll be fine at Patara.

Patara Thai Restaurant
t18 High Street
Wimbledon SW19 5DX
England

http://www.pataralondon.com/restaurant/wimbledon/

0203 931 6157

mailto:infowimbledon@pataralondon.com

Opening Times:
Sunday – Wednesday: 12:00 – 22:30
Thursday – Saturday: 12:00 – 23:00

Maso je maso Steak & Burger Restaurant, Prague, Czech Republic

08 Wednesday Aug 2018

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Maso je maso (meat is meat) occupies the space where the Summa cum Laude used to be.

The bar, open kitchen and bathrooms are the same but the restaurant interior has been re-decorated.

Those who read my review of Summa cum Laude will remember that I found the menu confused, like a mash up of several restaurant menus. Well Maso je maso is definitely not confused – this place is all about meat!

The reason for our visit was two-fold; try a new place and also escape from the heatwave that had caused Prague temperatures to rise to 35 degrees – I was pleased to find that the excellent air con from the previous restaurant was still in operation.

The new Chef-Patron visited our table and welcomed us to the restaurant and recommended the various steaks. The steaks sounded good, but with such hot weather outside we’d already decided on burgers.

A large glass of wine was 80 Kč. Tap water free. A tasty amuse-bouche (chorizo bruschetta) arrived.

The Italian Burger was good value at 215 Kč (170 gr. homemade ground beef, home made pesto, rucola salad, mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, parmesan, balsamic, basil). Homemade fries were not such good value (55 Kč).

The burger was really delicious and beats my previous favourite burger from nearby Putica – sadly my last visit to Putica was a disappointment and their burgers are not as good as they were. My only criticism was that is was served on a small board and I would have preferred a plate.

We shared a nice-enough panna cotta (95Kč) – slightly surprised to find this on a dish as that makes the ‘wobble test’ difficult.

Our second visit was just for the Italian burger – this time we asked the burgers to be served on plates and they were happy to do that. Oddly no amuse-bouche, so not sure how that works.

I certainly recommend a visit and when the weather cools down, I’ll try a steak and let you know.

Maso je maso
Belgicka 335/26
Prague 12000
Czech Republic

http://masojemaso.com/en/

Opening hours
Monday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Tuesday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Wednesday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Thursday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Friday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Saturday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Sunday Closed

Rapps Café, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, England

18 Wednesday Jul 2018

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Rapps Café is next door to the Kings Grill and both places seem to have the same owners – I’m not sure if they share a kitchen. Both a just a few minutes walk from the sea front.

We visited Rapps for lunch and it was pretty good. They ask that you place your order and pay in advance at the counter which makes tipping at the end difficult – not sure if the same applies in the evenings.

The interior is more restaurant than café.

The Grilled sea bass fillet £11.95 served with a warm potato, chorizo and olive salad, rocket and balsamic was good, although there probably too many olives. I’m still not completely convinced about chorizo and fish, even though it is a popular combination these days.

Tap water was free. Wine by the glass not expensive.

Rapps is certainly a nice place to visit if you find yourself in Saltburn-by-the-Sea.

Rapps Cafe
11-13 Milton Street
Saltburn-by-the-Sea
Cleveland, TS12 1DH

https://www.rappscafe.uk/

Tel: 01287 625354

thekingsgrill.saltburn@gmail.com

Opening times
Mon: 09:00 – 15:00
Tue: 09:00 – 23:00
Wed: 09:00 – 23:00
Thur: 09:00 – 23:00
Fri: 09:00 – 23:00
Sat: 09:00 – 23:00
Sun: 09:00 – 15:00

Closed Christmas day and Boxing Day

Food serving times
Mon: 09:00 – 15:00
Tue: 09:00 – 14:30 / 17:30 – 21:00
Wed: 09:00 – 14:30 / 17:30 – 21:00
Thur: 09:00 – 14:30 / 17:30 – 21:00
Fri: 09:00 – 14:30 / 17:30 – 21:00
Sat: 09:00 – 14:30 / 17:30 – 21:00
Sun: 09:00 – 15:00

Jadoo Indian Restaurant, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England

13 Friday Jul 2018

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I heard that Jadoo had been taken over by the same family that run the nearby Spices Indian Restaurant (that I like but haven’t reviewed). The previous owners weren’t very good at running the restaurant.

Jadoo has an elegant look and feel. The waiter was friendly and we asked for papadoms and dips – as I imagine does every person who visits an Indian restaurant in the UK.

A large Cobra beer was £4.50.

We ordered some classic Indian dishes:
Chicken Korma £9.40
Lamb Rogan £10.40
Chicken Tikka Masala £10.90

The sides were quite expensive for the area:
Keema Rice £3.95
Pilau Rice £3.30
Keema Naan £3.65

We were planning to share the dishes and expected the curries to be in the centre of the table and we each have a plate. As it was, each dish was plated and given to the person who chose it and that made sharing difficult. The curries were also oddly-presented, with large pieces of meat in the centre of sauce.

Lamb Rogan

Chicken Korma

Chicken Tikka Masala

The food wasn’t bad, but we would have preferred classic curries, served the traditional way. This particularly true for the lamb, which benefits from being marinated and cooked in the sauce to tenderise it.

We asked for the bill and although it seemed a bit high, paid without paying much attention. I asked to keep the receipt (only to help me with this review) and the waiter advised that he’d need to print a copy as that receipt was for their records. A receipt never arrived and so on leaving I requested one – there’s something suspicious about a restaurant that doesn’t want to provide a receipt.

Looking at the receipt later, I may have discovered one reason why the restaurant didn’t want me to keep it. We were charged £3.40 for four papadoms and £3.40 for the dips! That’s outrageously expensive and is obviously a disguised cover charge. I wish I hadn’t left a tip now.

I won’t be returning to Jadoo, over-modernised food I could live with but the rip off papadoms/dips finished the place for me. I’m also going to check the nearby Spices restaurant to see if they operate the same scam.

Jadoo Indian Restaurant
9 Milton Street
Saltburn-by-the-Sea TS12 1DH

+44 1287 626262

Website currently isn’t working

La Madriguera de Mai Bar/Restaurant, Seville, Spain

18 Monday Jun 2018

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Our AirBnB host recommended this place as a place to see Flamenco in a real environment – not a tourist show. It was fantastic. You could easily pass by this place without realising how good it is.

We visited mid-week to book our table for Friday Flamenco – starts around 9pm. The waitress was really friendly and spoke English.

We went back on the Friday night and found we had a front row table.

This isn’t the type of place where I would take photos of the food – but it was good food and wine.

Wine EUR 2.50 a glass
A chicken dish EUR 8.00
A fish dish EUR 8.00
A fantastic squid dish EUR 8.00
Large bottle of water EUR 2.00
Bottle of wine EUR 12.00

A guitarist played solo and was really good. Then a singer joined him – it really was a classic Spanish atmosphere.

The Flamenco dancer appeared and was just amazing.

After the official event, the singing continued and various members of the audience took to the stage to show off their Flamenco skills.

The staff were really friendly and we didn’t feel out of place there.

If you find yourself in Seville on a Friday night, this is the place to go.

La Madriguera de Mai
Calle Arrayan 23, 41003 Sevilla, España

+34 640 34 83 42

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