Tag Archives: Restaurant

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

No website

El Gallinero de Sandra Restaurant, Seville, Spain

14 Thursday Jun 2018

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El Gallinero was kindly recommended to us by the staff at ConTenedor Restaurant when we found the place fully booked on a Wednesday evening. I doubt we would have ever found it otherwise as the place is hidden down a passageway off an unattractive street and only has a small sign.

It’s also difficult to see the main restaurant from the outside as they have a large covered terrace.

We sat on the terrace on our first visit. The waitress was really friendly and was happy to try and explain the menu in English.

A large bottle of water was EUR 2.80 and good wine was EUR 5.00 per glass. We both had an excellent fish dish for EUR 18.50 each.

Followed by a chocolate ganache EUR 7.00.

On our second visit we sat in the main restaurant.

The Duck and Squid combination was odd but good EUR 18.00.

The was a pudding called Cheesecake Surprise EUR 7.00 that I guessed would be a deconstructed cheesecake. But it was still a surprise to find what looked like strawberries on the plate, only to find they contained a cheesecake topping.

It was absolutely delicious.

I’d recommend a visit when you’re in Seville.

El Gallinero de Sandra Restaurant
Pasaje Esperanza Elena Caro, nº 2. 41002, Sevilla.

954 90 99 31

hola@elgallinerodesandra.com

http://www.elgallinerodesandra.es/

ConTenedor Restaurant, Seville, Spain

13 Wednesday Jun 2018

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We found the ConTenedor Restaurant completely by accident – just walking past on a Monday evening and saw the ‘slow food’ subtitle that we recognised from many quality, locally-sourced food, restaurants in Bologna, Italy.

The place was busy for a Monday and the only seats available were side-by-side at a counter area – these turned out to be great seats and we booked those for our subsequent visits.

The counter (behind the seated diner) has four seats.

Our waitress was really helpful, friendly and spoke perfect English. We talked about the wines we liked and she let us try a couple before we chose a favourite. The white Castro Valdes wine was 3.50 EUR a glass or 17 EUR a bottle. The red was a similar price. A bottle of filtered water was 1 EUR – sometimes we had free refills, sometimes were charged, last visit no charge at all.

Drinks, olives and bread arrived. Our waitress returned with a chalkboard listing that day’s menu in Spanish. She described every menu item with passion and made everything sound delicious. We opted for a wild boar dish (Tataki) 17 EUR and the ConTenedor signature dish which I think was 15 EUR. Everything was excellent.

Our next visit was very similar, although there was a live guitar player. This time we had a waiter who also carefully explained the menu. We shared one main and had room for pudding.

Our last visit, we had a different waitress, who was slightly less keen to explain the entire menu, but still friendly. This time we had a cured fish plate and some duck.

I was the only person who had the oysters and although they tasted fine, my stomach didn’t like them later. But don’t let that put you off as I was either unlucky or over-sensitive.

ConTenedor is more expensive than many other places in Seville, but definitely worth a visit. You’ll need to book as it’s almost always full.

ConTenedor
Calle San Luis, 50, 41003 Sevilla, Spain

info@restaurantecontenedor.com

Phone 954 916 333

https://restaurantecontenedor.com/?lang=en

Restaurant Quebra Mar, São Vicente, Madeira

14 Monday May 2018

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São Vicente is a small sleepy village along the north-west coast of the island of Madeira.

There are some interesting cliff formations and a few restaurants – the largest by far is Quebra Mar. It’s also the only place with parking.

When we arrived, the downstairs area was full of people who were part of a coach tour. Upstairs was a more expensive revolving restaurant. Both have a view to the Sea, although the revolving restaurant should allow for you to experience various views throughout your meal.

We arrived to the revolving restaurant and could see that the floor was rotating, very slowly, anti-clockwise. Only three tables were occupied. We asked for a table by the left window – the idea being that we would have a continuous view. Strangely, the waiter insisted that we sit on the right. We tried to explain that the result would soon be a view to the stairs and kitchen, but he couldn’t understand, despite our elaborate miming. We decided to leave and try downstairs.

Downstairs was now empty and so we took a table by the window.

We ordered the Madeirian classics; garlic bread and scabbard fish with banana. It was just about okay, but nowhere near as good as the Raiz Quadrada Café in Funchal. Total, including a bottle of water was 21.40 EUR – so not expensive and certainly less than the place upstairs.

I’m amazed that so much money was invested in this place. There’s really no need for a revolving restaurant, especially when the waiter doesn’t realise where diners should be seated.

I wouldn’t make a special trip here, but if you do find yourself in São Vicente, eat downstairs and don’t expect too much.

Restaurant Quebra Mar
SÍTIO DO CALHAU, 9240 – 018 SÃO VICENTE
MADEIRA

TEL: (+351) 291 842 338

MON: 9H – 18H
TUE – SUN: 9H – 22H

http://restaurantequebramar.com/en

Raiz Quadrada Café, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

12 Saturday May 2018

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The centre of Funchal is a relaxed place. Houses and shops paint, or have an artist paint, their doors and you can read about that here.

The classic Madeira dishes are garlic bread and scabbard fish with banana. Prices vary but we found a great café, called Raiz Quadrada, that offered these classic dishes at almost half the price of many other places. The fish dish was only 8 EUR.

We sat outside.

But you can also sit upstairs inside where one of the tables looks out to the street.

The upstairs interior is cosy, with various bric-a-brac lining the walls.

The garlic bread and scabbard fish were excellent.

Our waitress, who looked a little bit like Wednesday Addams, was really friendly.

I’d definitely recommend a visit if you find yourself wandering the streets of Funchal. We only visited at lunchtime, but I can imagine the place has a cool vibe in the evenings.

Raiz Quadrada Café
Largo das Torneiras n. 6
9050-033 Funchal, Madeira

https://www.facebook.com/raizquadradacafe/

+351 291 224 213

07:30 – 02:00

Giardino Restaurant, Prague, Czech Republic

08 Tuesday May 2018

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I visited this location many years ago when I seem to remember it was a French restaurant. I can’t remember how long it’s been an Italian restaurant, despite walking past a few times each week and even sitting across the road eating at Pho.

The one thing I did remember was that there was a large garden at the rear. Our regular hot weather pasta choice has been Pizzeria Grosseto at nearby Náměstí Míru, but it’s quite noisy there and the prices have risen.

Sunday 29th April 2018 was a lovely warm day and so we decided to try the garden at Giardino. The garden is boarded and there’s even a small wooden house at the rear for rainy weather.

We asked for a jug of water and two glasses of Montepulciano (70 Kč for 0.15dl although our glasses looked more like 0.2dl). Sadly the jug of water didn’t appear and we were given a bottle of water (99Kč) – I think this was just miscommunication and I’m going to push for tap water on our next visit.

Some delicious bread and dips arrived – I later found that this was charged at 25 Kč which is a bit cheeky as we didn’t ask for it. However, I would have been happy to pay 25 Kč for it.

We asked for one ‘Selection of italian and balkan cold cuts and cheeses decorated
with strawberries, olives, capers and rocket’ to share (250 Kč) and really enjoyed that.

We both chose Ravioli with asparagus in a saffron sauce (210 Kč each). It was excellent.

I think we’ve found a regular restaurant for the Summer. Hopefully they’ll provide free tap water next time we visit.

Giardino Restaurant
Záhřebská 24
Praha 2
120 00

http://www.restgiardino.cz/

Open every day: 11:00 do 23:00

Email: info@restgiardino.cz

+420 222 513 427
+420 774 455 243
+420 775 600 575