Al Fassia, Windsor, & a bench on St Leonards Road, 15th June 2009

Part 1:
Expectations are a dangerous thing. I'd had my eye on this Morrocan restaurant for a long time - ever since Graham found it reviewed on this site. I made sure I had booked in advance - every single review on the site described it in glowing terms - so my expectations were sky high.

Al-Fassia is far off the tourist track, but close to my new favourite bar/arts centre, The Firestation (the building used to be Windsor's Fire Station, but now is a great drinking place for a sunny evening when they open the bar out onto the pavement), so it was a good excuse to combine visiting both places.

I was expecting a tiny but but busy place, 'shabby on the outside' (as the initial website now famously states), but a hidden gem inside. We walked straight past it, but once we did find it, my expectations were immediately confounded. It didn't look shabby at all...and it was very very empty. The service was good and we were bought some marinaded olives whilst we perused the menu. To start we had some briouat - triangles of filo pastry, stuffed with potato and vegetables, deep friend and served with a tomato dip. A lot like samosas, but without the spices. In fact there wasn't a huge amount of flavour which was disappointing. What was a hit though, was the hummous, which was some of the best i'd ever tasted. It had the perfect smooth texture and had a distinct subtle olive flavour. We had to ask for more bread to soak up every last bit of it.

The starters hadn't been bad, but those dastardly expectations of mine were remained high, as Hazel and Siobhan's main course tagines arrived at the table. They were sizzling hot - too hot to open immediately, but they smelt so appetising that we were all salivating before we'd even seen how good the food inside looked...

Both Louise and I had opted for a dish which had the same name as the restaurant. When our meals arrived, we were shocked to see just how huge our portions were. It looked like we had an entire bag of couscous each, as well as two merguez sausages, large pieces of chicken and lamb and a mountain of vegetables piled onto our plates!

Everything was cooked to perfection but the flavours got lost amongst the huge amounts of couscous (apart from the sausages, which were very tasty). The sauce we were given to eat with our dish had tasted of tumeric and not a lot else. The tagine dishes were smaller and although they'd looked and smelt great, the flavour seemed elusive. So sadly although we couldn't find fault with the service or the size of the portions, or the quality of the food, our high expectations meant that we left the restuarant underwhelmed. The flavours weren't as robust as we would have liked, which could well be down to personal taste, or not ordering the best options on the menu.

Overall:

Food quality: Quality was great, but it was just flavours that were missing (apart from the amazing hummous and very tasty sausages).

Atmosphere: We were initially the only diners so there really wasn't any atmosphere, but it was early on a monday evening. The interiors are lovely (and very morrocan), so potentially the atmosphere here could be great.

Service: Very attentive and friendly.

Value for money: This varies. My giant £12 dish could have easily fed two people if we'd known just how huge it was going to be! The tagines were smaller.

Overall: 6/10 More informed ordering might have helped us, as well as if we'd visited when it was busier. However I think the hugely inflated expectations had a very big part to play in the poor score, so this is no fault of the restaurant itself.

Part 2:
We'd declined dessert at the restaurant but instead bought icecreams from the local corner shop and as very classy ladies, we ate them on a bench on the street. I'd opted for a Magnum Temptation (Chocolate version). Having not seen any of the adverts I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but was initially disappointed when the elaborate packaging revealed a very small icecream (remember "flashy on the outside can lead to subsequent disappointment"!), and this was followed by a slightly disconcerting feeling about how overtly 'sexy' this icecream was trying to be. (It just reminded me of the chocolates they were trying to create in the final of The Apprentice, and it wasn't a good memory). But whilst the others suffered minor injuries and low levels of frostbite whilst trying to hack into the solid ice of their Ben and Jerries mini pots, I was delighted by my choice. The chocolate brownie and white chocolate chunks made up for any earlier misgivings!

Overall:
Food quality: The Ben and Jerries was far too cold, but the Magnum Temptation was chocolatey, ice-cream and brownie goodness on a stick!

Atmosphere: Although the sun had returned after some rain, it was a little cold to be sitting on a bench. There were probably more passers by than we would have liked. The parked cars also adversely affected the ambience.

Service: Siobhan was very unhappy that the Ben and Jerries tubs didn't contain user friendly spoons. Just basic wooden spatulas which weren't up to the task of hacking into overly cold icecream. However the Magnum's wooden stick did a great job - no complaints there.

Value for money: Depends how you look at it - far cheaper than buying dessert in the restuarant at any rate, but at the higher end of the price scale for individual icecreams.

Overall: 9/10 for Magnum. Probably 6/10 for the others.

Gourmet San, Bethnal Green Road, London

I love my friends. I love them even more when they introduce me to their favourite hidden-gems of local restaurants. Fia and Jerome first introduced us to Tayyabs, and they'd also a couple of months ago taken us to an amazing Korean place - Myung Ga (okay, it's in Soho so not their local and not really hidden, but we were the only non-Koreans in there, so it felt like a hidden gem). This time it was Laura and Ruari's turn to impress us with their very local Szechuan restaurant, Gourmet San.

As much as I like Chinese food, I'd yet to find somewhere that was exceptional. But I had high hopes knowing that this place would have to be pretty authentic to live up to Laura's standards after her year in China. As I mentioned in the previous post, my love of online restuarant research had found me this review, which amused me and had given me an idea of what to expect, but when I arrived, I really was taken aback by how not only was this a 'shabby on the outside' place, it was not looking good inside either! The restuarant was small and crammed full of people, and as I headed up the steep narrow stairs to the first floor, I couldn't help but notice the worn carpet and generally dilapidated interiors.

But I wasn't worried. I could see the huge dishes of food on the table, appealing to my every sense. As is our custom when someone takes us to their favourite restuarant, we let Laura order for the table, and we weren't disappointed. Instead of the usual Chinese-restuarant fare we were treated to incredibly flavoursome and authentic dishes. We had an aubergine, potato and green pepper dish with lots of garlic (all wonderful things, which worked really well together) , spicy fried chilli chicken, sweet potato noodles, kung po chicken with lots of cashew nuts (as Laura said "made how it was supposed to be" and it certainly tasted so much better than I'd had at other chinese resturants, and the Pièce de résistance; a huge tray of giant pork kebabs - amazingly tasty and really tender from the marinade.


We couldn't believe it had taken us all this long to find this place - as cheap as Tayyabs, but with a much larger menu and huge portions, and food with flavour that would not be matched. They even do home delivery (and I was very jealous that I didn't live in East London at that point). I enjoyed every dish I sampled, and the atmosphere in the upstairs room was laid back enough for us to take our time and not feel at all rushed (unlike Tayyabs where the staff are efficient to get you out and get those queuing seated).

Overall:

Food quality: Amazing. Everything was full of flavour, at the right level of spiciness without being overpowering. The food seemed truly authentic.

Atmosphere: It was packed and manic downstairs, but we were a group of 10 in a small but more light and airy upstairs room, so noise level etc were all about right.

Service: We didn't see staff too often so we were able to have a leisurely meal once we'd ordered, which suited us perfectly.

Value for money: We paid £11 a head for food and drink and the portions are huge. The value for money couldn't be any better.

Toilets: I can't remember them so they must have been fine (which is a really positive thing, considering that the place is really not very visually appealing).

Marks out of 10: 9.5/10 - I really loved this place. The food was the best and most authentic Chinese food i'd ever had.

The Jolly Farmer, Cookham Dean - 13th June 2009

I have to admit to being someone who does a bit of online research to discover good eating and drinking places. Reviews on sites like Toptable are useful indicators of what to expect in a restaurant, perhaps because the diners book through the site and have to post a review to receive 'points', which result in large numbers of up-to-date reviews. The nearest equivalent for pubs seems to be Beer in the Evening which doesn't work quite so efficiently. I use the site whenever I am looking for a pub in the Bucks/Berks countryside where I live, but the ratings and reviews can be a bit hit and miss, with some successes (such as The Dew Drop Inn in Hurley), but also a pub or two that hasn't lived up to expectations.

The Jolly Farmer in Cookham Dean appeared to fall into the latter category when myself and the boy went there for a sunday-night drink a few weeks ago. The knowledge that the pub was owned by the village appealed to our anti-corporate sensibilities, but walking in to a slightly unwelcoming response from some of the regulars, left us feeling a little disappointed. We did however notice some redeeming features: high calibre 'Red Sky' cheese and bacon flavoured crisps, bar staff who remembered what we were drinking on our second round, and despite the rain - the existence of the largest beer garden known to man (well in Cookham Dean).

So on a very sunny Saturday lunchtime, we returned to put The Jolly Farmer's beer-garden and food through its paces. I arrived early and found to my delight that the beer-garden possessed two rare qualities: the garden was sunny, and it had ample seating! I'd expected to find a larger number of tables crammed in together, but the people/space in garden ratio, was just about perfect (a real advantage of finding a pub off the beaten track).

The lunch menu consisted of a number of sandwich and jacket potato options with some more substantial 'pub lunch' dishes also available. I can't tell you a huge amount more about the menu, as i'd spotted a bacon, mushroom and stilton sandwich, and nothing sounded more appealing! There was however a brief discussion about whether white/brown or a baguette 'upgrade' (for £1), would be the best bread to complement the sandwich. Graham pointed out that the quandry may actually not be between sliced bread or baguette, but actually whether as the menu implied, the sandwich option was served cold, and the baguette, hot. He went to investigate and order, and after a longish wait (which we had been warned about, and which really wasn't a problem when we were waiting in such a sunny beer garden in an idylic location), I had my hot sandwich on granary sliced bread (perfect), and he had a ploughman's (also with stilton - King of Cheeses). The portions could have been bigger and there was only a small amount of salad as a side, (with red onion that was a little harsh), but otherwise , the always winning combination of mushroom and bacon was nicely complemented with the stilton. The boy, being a bit of a stilton enthusiast didn't think it was the best he'd tasted, but enjoyed his food all the same (apart from the celery).

So all in all, the online research i'd done to find the pub a few weeks back, really paid off. This was the best beer-garden i'd found in about a year, and the food and drink were really enjoyable. It was also great to find a pub so close to home, which felt like it was in the middle of nowhere, which is a definite part of its appeal.

Overall:

Atmosphere: The atmosphere in the beer garden was incredibly chilled out - it was the perfect place to drink and read the paper, although there is a small play-area for kids a bit further towards the back of the garden, but it was not busy enough for this to be noisy. In the pub itself, the ban on music and fruit machines means it is great for having a chat, (although last time on a quiet sunday evening, this was a bit oppresive).

Service: Good service behind the bar, and a bit of comedy value from the waitress shouting out people's surnames to deliver lunch to the right tables. A nearby table almost took offence when she shouted Graham's surname, which they had heard as 'wake up'.

Value for money: The portions were on the smaller side, with no sides included with the meals, so about £5 for a sandwich was a little on the pricy side.

Toilets: Neither good nor terrible, they could do with a bit of sprucing up.

Marks out of 10:
Food would be a 7/10, but the overall experience, with beer-garden bonus, brings this to 9/10 as we both had a really enjoyable lunch. 

UPDATE

I revisited the Jolly Farmer yesterday to take advantage of the beer garden in the beautiful weather. It was sunday lunchtime, and although it was quite a bit busier than my last visit, there were still tables available in the lovely garden. Service was friendly and a lot more efficient than last time (using numbers rather than last-names has less comedy value, but does increase the ease with which you get your lunch!) I ordered the same sandwich than last time and but it was actually more delicious second time round! Really juicy mushrooms and crispy bacon. I also checked out the toilets after Laura mentioned they had been refurbed, and I am very happy to report that they have been significantly spruced up. This has definitely become one of my favourite pubs, and i'll certainly be visiting again (and again).

Guest Food Blog: International Edition. Nostra Lunch Lounge, Rotterdam

One of the hidden secrets in Rotterdam has to be Nostra. It is far away from the shopping and fast food crowds and as soon as you spot this you know it is something special.

As soon as you walk through the door you will see the unique style of the interior: elements of Art Deco in combination with a modern lounge area with a plush red sofa. Here you can drink a fine espresso out of a cup from the Illy collection, freshly squeezed orange or grape fruit juice or an outstanding Italian or Spanish wine.

The menu is especially designed for a big lunch and offers many different sorts of salads, soup and assorted luxury bread rolls. The dishes are based on the Italian kitchen with healthy and fresh ingredients and when the sun is shining they have a small but cozy garden.

The salads and luxury bread rolls are full of fresh products and are positioned on the plate as if you are looking at a real painting. It is hard to even cut into this perfect composition but at the first bite you can't stop.

They have crammed in a few too many tables into this small room but they have a couple of round ones for bigger groups. Don’t expect any fancy cutlery or serviettes but it is all practical and does the job. There is even a little candle and a flower on the table.

This time we ordered a very nice and cold glass of Spanish white wine that would be accompanied by a goat cheese salad for Yvonne and a turkey salad for myself. The service is good and they deliver the food in a timely manner. You almost feel like sitting at home as there is playing nice music in the background and the atmosphere is such that you can talk to each other without having to shout.

The salads were very fresh and tasted amazing and with every bite you can taste a different fresh flavor in your mouth. The wine makes the whole lunch complete. As the salads are pretty big it takes a while before you have eaten it all (if you can get it all in) but due to the freshness you don’t feel stuffed.

Overall:
Atmosphere: Calm and intimate and a lovely romantic place
Service: Friendly young students who treat every customer as if they are at home having a Birthday party
Value for money: You pay a bit more as all ingredients are fresh and the wine could be a bit adding to the bill but in the end it is all worth it.
Overall I would rate the entire place as a 8.5

Stefan