The Brasserie, Mallory Court Hotel, Near Leamington Spa, Warwickshire

I hadn't expected a good meal that evening.

Plans remained mysterious, and all I knew about our destination was that it was "5 minutes away from the M40" - a phrase which led me to genuinely expect us to be heading to a Travelodge and dining in a Little Chef (actually - as unpleasant as eating in Little Chef is, I would quite like to visit the one that has had the benefit of the Heston Blumenthal makeover).

But I had very much underestimated Graham's proficiency at finding a beautiful country house hotel (found via this aptly named website) earlier that day during his 5 hour transit wait in Moscow. We had an amazingly luxurious room in the main building of the Mallory Court Hotel, and the wonderfully friendly staff recommended we visit The Brasserie for dinner. Not quite sure what to expect, we made the two minute walk to the restaurant in the hotel grounds.

We were greeted by more friendly staff and had a drink in the stylishly art deco bar. There was none of the usual downfalls of hotel restaurants - oppressive silence and lack of atmosphere being the worst offenders. Instead there was the great combination of smart interiors, helpful staff, a good number of other diners and a relaxed atmosphere. We perused the various menus (a la carte, daily specials and vegetarian), which had a good mix of options without being over-long, and we chose quickly (although I found it difficult to decide between halloumi or a blue cheese souffle starter).

We were then shown to our seats in the restaurant, which had a totally different feel to the bustling brightness of the bar. It was a romantic atmosphere, with tables in a softly-lit conservatory. We quickly ascertained as we were given the choice of a variety of bread rolls, that this was the most classy establishment that we'd had dinner at together.

Graham's starter was the exotically named 'King Crab Thai Style Nage' (we didn't know what a 'nage' was - neither did the waitress- although she found out it was pronounced 'nagee') - it was under the 'soup' section and sounded good, and I opted for the pan friend halloumi with salad, lemon and capers. Both dishes were beautifully presented. The 'nage' was a white, creamy crab soup which was given a kick from spring onions, and was much enjoyed.


My first impression of my halloumi dish was that it was a small portion, but the amazing taste, quality and richness meant it was actually just the perfect size. The halloumi wasn't as overly salty as it can be, and the richness was wonderfully offset by the capers and tomatoes.



The high standard of food in terms of quality, flavour and presentation, continued to the main courses. Graham opted for the daily special - beef bourguignon with mashed potato and carrots, and I went for the penne with butternut squash, sage, parmesan and parma ham. It was the best pasta dish i'd had in a very long time. The parmesan and butternut squash made for a velvety smooth cheese sauce with the deeply robust flavours of the sage and the ham. It was blissfully good!

As Graham had opted for beef, I couldn't sample his dish, but he rated it very highly, and we were both far too stuffed to contemplate dessert.

Overall:

Atmosphere: There were just the right number of other diners and it was classy without being oppressive- the bar was stylish but relaxed and the restaurant was romantic but still relaxed. Ideal in terms of atmosphere.

Food Quality: Wonderful! Only complaint would be the slightly dry bread rolls, but the mains and starters were quite perfect.

Service: Friendly and attentive without being obtrusive.

Value for Money: Even though some of the dishes on the menu are pricey, our dishes were great value. The dish of the day is £8.50 and includes a glass of house wine, and a starter for £3.50. I didn't go for the deal so my starter was £6, but my main course was only £6.50. So excellent value considering how satisfied we were with our meals.

Overall: 9.5/10 This is a fantastic restaurant in its own right, but I found it even better comparing it to other hotel eateries that i've experienced, as it gets atmosphere, food and price right, which is a rare find in these situations!

Strumpets with Crumpets, Lounge on the Farm Festival. Canterbury, Kent

Our first proper festival experience had started optimistically - we'd enjoyed creating a very small oasis of civilised camping (where we sipped wine from my plastic wine glasses and ate strawberries and Kathleen's delicious homemade caramel shortbread), in a field full of mentalist teenagers. However after a very trying night (our tent being moved, our tent being ransacked, our tent being trampled on all night whilst we were in it, our tent being rained on, our tent witnessing drug dealers having fights), things seemed bleak.


We were damp, weary and mildly depressed, as we walked through the drizzle trying to find a cup of tea. The previous evening we'd seen an impressive array of local food stalls, but sadly the majority were still shut. We walked to the far end of the field, following a tantalising aroma of buttery, bacony, syrupy goodness. Suddenly it seemed things were going to improve. Salvation had come to us in Crumpet form!


'Strumpets with Crumpets' is an enterprise devised by the three females who serve the crumpets from their boudoir-styled trailer, whilst in their 'strumpet' outfits. It wasn't the outfits that made crumpets sexy for me (corsets/basques surely can't make for good food preparation, can they?), but the locally-sourced, organic and fair trade ingredients, resulted in crumpets with joy-inducing combinations of toppings.


The menu ranges from the simple (butter), to the traditional (marmite, honey, jam, peanut butter, chocolate spread), and the sublime (frappe egg, pancetta and cheddar, or eggy crumpet, pancetta and maple syrup). We couldn't resist opting for the latter, and enjoyed cups of tea and Bob Marley whilst we waited.

It was well worth the wait. We each received a molten hot 'eggy' crumpet (perfect for filling the holes in the crumpet), topped with incredible fried pancetta and maple syrup! This was by far the best crumpet based food i'd ever eaten. These hot, square-shaped crumpets were a million miles away from the usual bland, dry, tough crumpets my toaster usually produced. It was heavenly - the ultimate breakfast, comfort-food. Nothing could have lifted my spirits more.


Overall:

Food quality: Absolutely wonderful. The crumpet was cooked perfectly, and the combination of salty pancetta and sweet maple syrup on a eggy base, was quite amazing.

Atmosphere: They had a number of tables and chairs outside the stall - It was all very relaxed, we sat there a while sipping tea, soothed by Bob Marley, whilst we slowly felt more human.

Service: Efficient and friendly. They looked like they were enjoying themselves, which I certainly wouldn't be if I had to prepare and serve crumpets whilst wearing a corset!

Value for money: £3.50 for our crumpet and tea was pretty great for a festival. The crumpets weren't large, but were very filling.

Overall: 9.5/10 - You must try this if you see the 'Strumpets' at a festival.

Taj Mahal, Dubrovnik Old Town, Croatia

"Taj Mahal...You guessed it, the Old Town's only Bosnian Restaurant." ('Dubrovnik in your pocket' Summer 2009).

It was this bizarrely incongruous description in our free tourist guide, which drew us to this restaurant in Dubrovnik's Old Town. The previous evening we'd dined at an overpriced, mediocre tourist trap about a minute from our apartment (the danger of heading out after a few too many drinks), so we were keen to try something different, and Bosnian food sounded just that.

But alas, it seemed we weren't the only ones with that idea. On Friday evening we were turned away with a 40 minute wait (there are only a small number of seats - all outdoors, bar one tiny table). We headed elsewhere, making plans to get there early for lunch the following day, as seeing the menu had whet our appetites even more!

There's a lot of choice on the menu. A lot less choice if you, like me, are a non-beef eater. I was quite amused to find that even a turkey dish was 'stuffed with beef'. No sacred cows here then...However, this was far from being an issue, as there are vegetarian appetisers and side dishes, and it made choosing what to eat less of a dilemma!

I opted for the aubergines stuffed with spicy cheese, along with turkey skewers with spinach, red peppers and mushrooms (one of the two non-beef main courses), which was served with a perfectly baked potato, filled with sour cream.

It was simple but everything tasted fresh and cooked to perfection. I loved the aubergine dish - auberines are quite amazing, but coupled with the tasty, slightly spicy cream cheese it was a sumptious dish.

I still had some space for dessert, so I shared a portion of baklava with Siobhan, and it was easily the best i've ever tasted - very moist, and although incredibly sweet, the combination of the finely ground nuts, honey and syrup combined to produce something quite amazing.

It was so good in fact that we decided there and then, that we would return for lunch again the following day, as there was more on the menu we wanted to sample.

So we did return and chose even better dishes second time round... Siobhan's mushrooms were the best food she'd eaten during the whole holiday - they definitely deserved praise - plump and juicy and cooked to maximise their flavour (no garlic or chilli needed!)

Myself and Louise opted for a starter of Fritters with Kaymak (a gloriously salty cheese) which complemented the doughy, freshly fried fritters perfectly. They tasted amazing, but we had such generous portions, we couldn't finish them.



For our main courses, Siobhan and Louise went for Chevaps - small grilled beef sausages, served in thick, fluffy bread. I went for the (only) other non-beef option, lamb 'kebob'. There was no description of the dish, but I was very pleased to find it was served with thick slices of roasted aubergine, and potatoes too. A dash of tobasco added a kick that made this dish delicious.


Overall:

Food quality: The quality of every single dish could not be faulted. The freshness of the ingredients and perfect cooking makes this amazing. Even when I ordered a lemonade I received a freshly squeezed one!

Atmosphere: The small number of tables in a quiet back street just off the main tourist throughfare, made this feel like our hidden gem of a restuarant both lunchtimes. The shaded outdoor tables were a very welcome escape from the intense heat of the day.

Service: Efficient but not friendly on our first visit. Very smiley and pleasant on our second (I think we were served by the chef on the second occasion!)

Value for money: Very good and in some cases brilliant - some dishes are huge but its not obvious from the menu which ones these are! The main meals are actually cheaper than the starters.

Overall: 9.5/10 If you go to Dubrovnik you need to go to this place. It's not spicy food, but it is amazingly tasty and fresh, and you'd be mad not to try it.

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