La Vita Spuntini - Byres Road, Glasgow

La Vita Spuntini Byres Road

We’ve previously had takeaways and eaten in the Bishopbriggs La Vita which has always been received well. After a tiring weekend, we decided to grab a takeaway, and La Vita Byres Road had a really great deal on. Three tapas style starts, a pizza and a pasta dish all for £20.00. This was a better offer than the one for Bishopbriggs, so how different could the same restaurant be in quality? Let’s find out…

Mister Eats: The first starter we got was Pollo Cardinal which was a chicken in batter, covered in a creamy mushroom sauce. This was not what I thought it was going to be – the chicken was hard and overcooked, the sauce could have been anything I just couldn’t taste a thing. The only two positive things I would say is that the batter had a nice flavour to it and the mushrooms were cooked well.



Next was Spiedini De Manzo which was sausage wrapped in a steak. This dish had a very nice Napoli sauce, very good flavours with a slight spice at the end; I’d really like that sauce in pasta. The steak however had only been cooked on one side, and after cutting into the steak you could tell that the other side hadn’t even been put on the grill. Somehow the sausage was overcooked. Had it the sausage not been overcooked, and the steak undercooked, I could see the potential for this dish as I could detect the flavours coming through from the actual sauce which would have been nice, had it not have been for the texture battle that was going on in my mouth.

The last starter we got was the Arancini De Manzo. This was the dish I was most looking forward to try, on paper it sounded very appetising and appealing. When we got it, it looked like something you would get from a freezer section of a supermarket. Very little taste in the balls; they were cold, tasteless and unidentifiable as risotto balls.

We got the Amore pizza which is basically a pizza topped with pesto, mascarpone cheese, pepperoni and roasted red peppers. We’ve previously had this pizza from the Bishopbriggs restaurant, and we liked it so much we ordered it again expecting the same quality. We were greatly disappointed as I have never seen a more undercooked pizza as what we got. The whole thing bar the crust was completely raw, as I lift up a slice there was absolutely no maintaining its shape and everything fell of the pizza. Even when we cooked it the next day in our oven, it didn’t seem to even help it much. This was by far the worst pizza I’ve ever had!

We chose the Mia Casa. The pasta was the only upside to this catastrophe of a takeaway! It had a really nice, rich, creamy sauce. The pasta was cooked well, and after the disappointment with the chicken in the mushroom starter, I paid extra attention to this one, and it was cooked and seasoned well. They were not shy with the broccoli which was a plus, and cooked well.



In terms of value, the only thing that I would have paid for is the pasta dish, so I can’t say that this was good value for money. I don’t know what kind of chef it takes to constantly undercook and overcook at the same time, but I’d rather have flushed my £20 down the toilet. Definitely won’t be visiting that La Vita in person!

My 5 point sum up:

-          Half over cooked, half undercooked

-          Very little flavour

-          Cold

-          Visually Unappealing

-          100% won’t get a takeaway from them again

Missus Eats: As Mister Eats has mentioned, we’ve had a La Vita before but only from the Bishopbriggs restaurant, so we didn’t think much quality would be different, if anything I thought it would be improved as this was from the West end of the city.

To start, we had a tapas sized starter of Pollo Cardinal. I actually liked the sauce that it was in, I thought the mushrooms were cooked well and the sauce was just a generic creamy sauce. The menu describes this as having a ‘secret twist’ to the chicken.. Now the only thing I can think that this could be is the batter on the outside, which makes no sense because it was a bog standard batter. But all in all, it was okay.

Next was the Spiedini De Manzo which I found really hard to eat – the steak was tough, and the sausage was even tougher. The sausage seemed to be overcooked and the steak overcooked, and the combination was just not desirable at all. The sauce was mediocre, a basic tomato Napoli sauce. I wouldn’t order it again, another disappointment.

Finally was the Arancini De Manzo, risotto balls. Now I’ve actually looked back and read the menu there supposedly was a beef and pork ragu in the middle of the balls... I genuinely thought it was just risotto, they had that little flavour. The breadcrumbs on the outside were pleasant and added texture, the dip that was provided in them was again, tasteless. This was the only starter I was really looking forward to it and it just let me down.

I’ve had the Amore pizza before from La Vita Bishopbriggs, and was one of the main reasons that I wanted to get a La Vita. Last time, it was absolutely divine. This time, it was inedible. The pizza base was completely raw, and even when we cooked it the next day, it just was not nice to eat. The mascarpone wasn’t there, the red peppers were soggy, the pesto was tasteless and the base had the consistency of PVA glue.

Last but not least, the pasta we chose was the Mia Casa which again, I’ve had before from the Bishopbriggs restaurant, and this was the only thing where the quality was the same. The broccoli was lovely and crunchy, and I love the way the pasta wasn’t drowned in the sauce, it was just lightly tossed, and the slight chilli kick afterwards was delicious. I really enjoyed this dish and wish that I’d have just got this, because I would have thoroughly enjoyed my meal more.

I really don’t want this experience to put me off eating in La Vita, as it seems such a quality change from the one in Bishopbriggs. I am really curious to go and eat in the restaurant to compare the standards, and if I do, I will keep you updated. The meal was completely disappointing; I could have gone out with £20.00 and cooked myself a better meal than that. Shame on La Vita Spuntini for this horrendous quality food.

My 5 point sum up:

-          Bad quality food

-          Lovely Mia Casa

-          Uneven quality between restaurants

-          Great offer, bad experience

-          Would never order takeout from there again

 Thanks for reading, and remember... Enjoy your meal

Mister and Missus Eats x

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Frankie and Bennie's - Bishopbriggs, Glasgow

Frankie & Bennies - Bishopbriggs, Glasgow

 

After a long hard day at work, we ventured to Frankie & Bennies. We don’t usually like to review chain restaurants as we much prefer the vibrancy and atmosphere of independently owned eateries, but who doesn’t love a F&B’s once in a while?
 

 Mr Eats: The location of this Frankie and Bennies is a bit out the way. It’s sort of just plonked in the middle of a retail park which I don’t like. Inside was just a typical American/Italian restaurant, with black and white photographs up of New York etc nothing too special.

 

 For my starter I ordered Meatballs Italiano, which are two beef and pork meatballs with a garlic ciabatta on the side. It came in a basic Neapolitan sauce with onions, it looks more homemade than restaurant made, which in this case isn’t a good thing! It was a bit sloppy. The meatballs were hot in the middle, but cold on the outside which gave me the impression that they were heated up in the microwave, but they were tasty regardless. The garlic ciabatta was more just.. bread, and more crisp than toasted.

 



I choose to get New Yorker Burger which is a beef burger with jalapeno cheese, BBQ sauce and bacon. The chips were your bog standard chips, no fancy double fried, just plain and simple chips. As always from American style places, the burger was more than a mouthful. I liked the buns that they used, as it was leaning towards a brioche bun, but not as sweet. The salad was nice and crisp, and wasn’t soggy which often happens if it’s left sitting on a burger for too long. Both the meat and the bacon had either been overcooked, or had been precooked because they were both really dry. Despite there being a lot of cheese on the burger, I could feel the texture but had no taste at all – it was pretty much just a lubricant which actually helped with the dryness of the burger. It came with a side of a sweet tomato relish which was really flavoursome, I didn’t add it to the burger but it went well as a dip for my chips. Mrs Eats gave me her corn on a cob which was cold but firm and juicy. I like a char on my corn, but it seemed like the char was focused to just one side which made it a bit inconsistent in taste.

 

 

 

 



Overall I think it came to around £12 for mine. For a starter, burger and chips I think this is a pretty reasonable price – but with what I actually got on my plate, I’d have rather paid less! I probably wouldn’t go back due to the poor menu selection, and from my experience it is poor quality. They’re not trying new dishes, I like to see different twists of classics, but they’re playing it safe and going bog standard. Disappointing, but I guess that’s what you get with some chain restaurants, no freedom to play around with dishes. I would believe it is someone told me that that was the exact same menu that they had 10 years ago!

My 5 point sum up:

 

-          Overcooked

-          Not enough flavour

-          Poor menu selection

-          Reasonable price

-          Wouldn’t go back

 

Mrs eats: I really love going to Frankie and Bennie’s, as I think it’s just a nice, simplistic restaurant to go to when you don’t want somewhere fancy, but want more than a takeaway. I’ve been to this Frankie and Bennie’s before so we went one Sunday afternoon as a wee treat for us. We chose from the Specials Menu which is available Sunday – Friday, and it’s just £9.95 then an additional £2 per starter and dessert.

 

For starters I ordered the Cheddar & Bacon potato skins, I’ve had these before and really enjoyed them, and this time was no different. The potato skin was lovely and crispy whilst the bacon and cheddar added tons of flavour on the inside. It came with a side of sour cream which was really delicious when dolloped on the top. I love this starter!

 



 Again I chose a main which I’ve already had before, the Cajun Chicken Melt. This is a chicken breast with cajun spices topped with bacon, monterey jack cheese and BBQ sauce. I really enjoyed this last time, but on this occasion the meal was lacking. I couldn’t taste any of the spices from the chicken, the bacon wasn’t ‘crispy’ as it states in the menu, and the cheese looked as though it had been sat around for a while as it had solidified in a gloopy  mess on top of the chicken instead of a lovely melted cheese blanket like last time. The BBQ sauce was a bit more runny than usual and not as full of flavour as i'd have liked, but the cajun mayo that comes on the side is to die for – I could happily eat another 5 pots of it. The fries were typical American style fries. But sadly a let down, as I was really looking forward to this main. Although, I would order it again, as I know the potential that the meal has.

 



 I wouldn’t write off this Frankie and Bennie’s, as I’ve had experience in the past where I enjoyed it. Unlike Mr Eats, I feel that the small selection of foods is a good thing, as a large menu sometimes makes it overwhelming to choose from. Plus, sticking to traditional meals makes it easy for people to know what they’re ordering, as sometimes restaurants try too hard to change it up. For £12 plus drinks, I would definitely come again as a last minute stop, as I think that’s a bargain for a 2 course meal.

 My 5 point sum up:

 

-          Disappointed

-          Great offers

-          Amazing cajun dip

-          Reasonable menu selection

-          Would go again

 

Thanks for reading, and remember... Enjoy your meal

Mister and Missus Eats x

If you have any suggestions, please comment below or email

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Wudon Noodle Bar - Great Western Road, Glasgow

Wudon Noodle Bar, Great Western Road Glasgow

Mr Eats loves sushi, so after a lovely day shopping down the iconic Byres Road, we walked to short distance Great Western Road, home of Wudon Noodle Bar. We had previously heard that this was one of the best places in the city to eat some great sushi, so we decided to try it for ourselves! Instead of going for a main each, we sampled 8 dishes in a sort of do-it ourselves tapas style. This meant we got to try more at the one time. We ordered Californi Rolls (crabstick, avocado, Japanese omelette rolled in fish roe), Dragon Maki (king prawn tempura, raw salmon, sesame seeds), Sake Nigiri (raw salmon over sushi rice), Sake Maki (raw salmon in sushi rice and seaweed), Tori Katsu (chicken in breadcrumbs with mild curry sauce), Warteeps (soft dumplings of pork, king prawns and shitake mushrooms), Tze Jup Salmon (salmon fillet with blackbean sauce) and Hotate (grilled scallop).

 

 Mr Eats: I never like walking into a restaurant and it being empty, I don’t think anyone does. There was one other table and as like in most restaurants we were seated on the table next to them. I ordered myself a glass of Merlot and the waitress asked if we wanted some prawn crackers to start. I’ve never had prawn crackers from a Japanese restaurant before, they weren’t like your typical crackers from a Chinese restaurant - they were larger, thicker and a golden brown. I have to say that I prefer those to the Chinese ones! It felt more like I was actually eating a starter instead of eating some prawn flavoured polystyrene. On the table we had some chilli oil and that added a bit of a kick to them. On with the sushi!

 

 



I ordered the Califonia Rolls, Dragon Maki, Sake Nigiri and Hotate, but I managed to try abit of everything.

 California rolls are probably my favourite type of sushi. I’ve never been a huge fan of avocado but in sushi it seems to work. These California rolls probably had the strongest taste of avocado which I ended up liking and I’ve never had fish roe but it added an extra subtle flavour. The only bad thing I would have to say about these is that the rice fell apart when I used the chopsticks.

 

California Roll



 

 The dragon maki is the best of both worlds – a mix of nigiri and maki. Really good flavours and you could tell the fish was really fresh. The sushi held it’s shape – no faults for this one!

 

 

Sake Nigiri (Left) Dragon Maki (Right)



 The Sake Nigiri and the Sake Maki are the two most typical types of sushi, it was good quality and enjoyed a bit of simple sushi whilst being adventurous and trying new flavours.

 I’ve only had scallops once before so I’m still learning to be able to taste the quality of the cooked scallops. The Hotate had a really nice texture, nice caramelisation on the outside. Not something that I would think to put on sushi, but it worked well.

 

Sake Maki (Top) Hotate (Bottom)



 Mrs Eats ordered the Tori Katsu and this was probably my least favourite out of everything. I do like Chicken Katsu but it just didn’t work in sushi form. The chicken was cold and a little bit dry, but the rice and sauce were cooked well. I just didn’t think it worked aswell as others.

 I’ve never had a Japenese dumpling before, but the Warteeps had a very strange texture. It was somewhere in between undercooked pasta and gluey mashed potatoes. As horrible as I’ve just described, once you got used to the texture, it was actually really nice. Pork, prawns and mushrooms – I can’t fault it, they all blended together nicely.

 Mrs Eats also ordered the Tze Jup Salmon, although when it came out she thought she wouldn’t like it so I dived in to try it instead. It was quite hard to eat using chop sticks, as it just flaked away. The blackbean sauce went really nice with the salmon, it had a chicken taste to it, as if it had been cooked in a chicken stock – but it was really nice and I liked it.

 In terms of price, sushi is always expensive. It came to roughly £30.00 not including drinks, which does seem a lot for a mix of something so small, but because it’s rice you get pretty filled fast. It’s a healthy alternative to a takeaway or fast food restaurant, so for a full meal for two, I was happy to pay it.

 Wudon is a great little restaurant with good service and even better food. I would definitely come back to this Great Western road gem!

My 5 point sum up:

-          Great food

-          Good service

-          Wide selection

-          Fresh fish

-          Definitely would go again

Mrs Eats: I’m not as big of a fan of sushi as Mr Eats, but I enjoy the simpler types. I was looking forward to going to Wudon as it has been rated highly on other review sites. It was really easy to find after a short walk from Byres Road although for the number one spot for sushi, it was surprisingly empty for a Saturday afternoon.

 

 

Sweetened Iced Lemon Tea (Left) Merlot (Right)



 I really enjoyed the Japanese style prawn crackers, they didn’t have an overly fishy taste like some, it was a subtle hint of prawn. When dipped in the chilli oil at the table, it was a really nice combination and it was a great wee starter. I also had a sweetened iced lemon tea, the waitress was very nice in trying to match the amount of sweetness I liked in it and I thought that was a nice personal touch. It was cool and refreshing, and was needed on a hot September day.

 

Chilli Oil





 

 My choice of sushi were the Sake Maki, Tori Katsu, Warteeps and the Tze Jup Salmon. The Sake Maki is my favourite type of sushi, plain and simple raw salmon and rice. Dipped into a little soya sauce – perfect! You could really tell the difference between this authentic sushi, over store bought or even something along the lines of Yo! Sushi. The fish was lovely and fresh, and the rice had just the right amount of stickiness to it, which is key to perfect sushi.

 I got the Tori Katsu because I adore Chicken Katsu curry, but I didn’t want a big main when I could try lots of different things. It was a strange concept to me, having chicken in sushi, and I’m afraid for me it just didn’t work. I don’t know what I was expecting, but the chicken and curry sauce being cold just didn’t taste right to me, the curry sauce went a bit grainy and it just wasn’t enjoyable at all. I love Chicken Katsu, but unfortunately, it should be left in a curry and not rolled in rice and seaweed!

 

Tori Katsu



 The next thing were the Warteeps, which is a soft dumpling with pork, king prawns and shitake mushrooms. When I first tried them, it was hard to get used to the texture (a sort of uncooked pasta), but once used to them, they were absolutely delicious. The mushrooms added a good consistency to the inside, and the pork added a nice saltiness to the blander dumpling. I wasn’t sure that I could taste the king prawn to be honest, but I loved the dumplings and craved more once I’d finished.

 

Warteeps



 My last choice was the Tze Jup Salmon, and when it first came out it wasn’t what I expected and it didn’t appeal to me at all. Mr Eats started chowing it down, and I had to try it for myself, and I was pleasantly surprised. The salmon was lovely and tender, flaking off into the caramelized sauce. It tasted to me like a sweeter, BBQ sauce and it really was pleasant.

 

Tze Jup Salmon



 The only one of Mr Eats sushi that I tried was the Sake Nigiri, which is one that I have when I’m ordering myself as take away. The salmon was so fresh, it really complimented the sushi rice underneath. Again, a clear favourite for me.

 Overall, I did enjoy Wudon. I wouldn’t necessarily be in a rush to go again, but that’s because my preference isn’t Japanese cuisine. If I were to go again, I would maybe opt for a full Chicken Katsu curry with a side of the Warteeps, as they were just delicious! I would definitely recommend them to anyone that wants to try something different. The price was quite reasonable, working out at around £15.00 per person, this is great considering how full we were by the end of the meal. I feel that because the sushi was rather cheap and it came in between 1 and 3 pieces, it was easy to try a lot and really experience Japanese cuisine.

 My 5 point sum up:

 

-          Fresh food

-          Great customer service

-          Value for money

-          Wide range of options

-          Would go again if Mr Eats wanted to

 

 

 

Thanks for reading, and remember... Enjoy your meal

Mister and Missus Eats x

If you have any suggestions, please comment below or email

mister.missus.eats@gmail.com!

 

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The Burger Room Takeaway - Cowgate, Kirkintilloch, Glasgow

The Burger Room Takeaway, Cow Gate, Kirkintilloch, Glasgow

Last night we decided to try the new burger room in Kirkintilloch that everyone is talking about.. The burger room. This burger joint had over 1,000 likes on Facebook before they had even opened their doors to the general public – was this due to their parent restaurant’s reputation Ashoka, or was the small town of Kirkintilloch just excited to see something different?

We’ve been impressed with the photos the page has been posting – let’s just say their cocktails make our mouths water every time we see them.But we’ve not had time to actually go and enjoy the full Burger Room experience – and we were just too impatient to wait to try their food.

 Mrs Eats placed an order over the phone, and Mr Eats picked it up and brought it back. The smell when it arrived, almost smelt like a McDonalds, and it smelt delicious. Here’s what we thought:

Mr Eats: I ordered a Burger Room original ‘The Homer’, this came with a beef burger, pulled pork, macaroni & cheese with bacon bourbon jam (and the typical lettuce and tomato salad). The burger quality was really good, although the burger has lots of toppings, it was well balanced and wasn’t too messy to eat, which can be a problem with burgers! The brioche bun works really well with the burger, it creates a classic American feel. The jam didn’t come through that much, there was a hint of a barbeque sauce but I think that might have come from the pulled pork – so slightly disappointing as I’d have liked to taste it more. I would believe it if someone told me that the burgers were made as and when the order is taken, and not just from a stock pile.

 



I had a side of chips, which I really loved. They were an odd mix of crunchy but soft at the same time, a mix between chippy chips and baked oven chips – but a better version. Definitely the chips I like, and you can tell that they are made in house.

 

 



For the service when I went in, when said that I was there to pick up an order, the lady seemed confused, didn’t say anything and then walked away from me. In the 10-15 minute wait, I think every waiter in the place asked me if I was being served. This could possibly be down to the fact that they were pretty busy, or just being overly polite. When the order came, it had been ordered at least half an hour previously which you wouldn’t expect from a phone in order.

My meal came to a total of £8.45, which I think is slightly more than I would like to pay. But the burger is very good, that I would go again. From the pictures that I’ve seen on the facebook and from other facebook users, there was no quality lost to the look of the burger, just because it was a takeaway.

My 5 point sum up:

- Great food

- Too long of a wait for a phone order

- Well presented

- Simple, but effective menu

- Definitely would go again

Mrs Eats: I ordered the Western burger, which is basically a beef patty, with bacon, montery jack cheese and bbq sauce. I’m not a huge beef burger fan, but I don’t think you can go to a burger place and not try a beef burger to test them out! The hype has been unbelievable for such a small, local place – and I was interested to see if it would live up to it. And my oh my, it did. The burger was succulent and juicy, clearly a high quality, fresh piece of meat. The brioche bun added a really nice sweet taste to the burger, and stopped it from becoming overpowering and dry. My favourite type of bacon is really crispy and smoky– and this was it! The only problem was that there was only one piece, when I would have expected two or three. But that’s me being really picky! Again, once the cheese had been melted on to the bun, it was pretty much lost with the other flavours. But, a very very top notch burger!

 

 



The chips were not so much to my taste, very much like chippy chips, a wee bit soggy (this could have been caused by it being a takeaway), but still really nice. I don’t like too much salt or vinegar on my chips, and would have preferred to have had them with none so that I could add my own, but again, that’s me being really picky.

In terms of the menu, I like the simplistic options they’ve gone for. 4 beef burgers, 3 chicken burgers, a pulled pork burger and 2 vegetarian burgers, plus the option to add toppings such as chilli, cheese or onions. This keeps it simple for them to make fresh, but also the menu isn’t overpowering, but still lots of choice. The sides include onion rings, mac n cheese or chilli bowl, and you can also order wings, nachos and sundaes. (Although, not all these are available for takeaway). I feel like this is going to be a really popular place, and not just a short phase. The restaurant (judging by customers I’ve spoken to, and also from their Facebook page) has a very good vibe about it, with a licence to serve drink and cocktails (and oh my gosh, they look so good) and weekly movie nights, I think it will be hard for anyone to not get sucked into the atmosphere. I’m really looking forward to physically going to the restaurant!

My meal came to £7.95, which I think is good value for the type of meal you’re buying. It isn’t just a greasy, burger king, which can potentially cost a similar price! You’re paying for a high quality, delicious, authentic American meal.

My five point sum up:

 - Delicious burger

 - Good price

 - Diverse, not overpowering menu

- Very good social marketing (creates a buzz)

- Would definitely go again

 

Have you been to The Burger Room? What about it's parent restaurant Ashoka? Let us know!

 

Thanks for reading, and remember... Enjoy your meal

 

Mister and Missus Eats x

 

If you have any suggestions, please comment below or email

mister.missus.eats@gmail.com!

A Little Taste of Italy - Elmbank Street, Glasgow

Mister and Missus Eats Logging On.

Yesterday we had tickets to the theatre, so on a whim, we chose an Italian restaurant not far from the show. This was ‘A Little Taste of Italy Ristorante Teatro’. We chose this based on an offer that appeared on 5pm, which is a discount site that is really handy for deals on eating out. It was one of the first ones that came up and the menu looked quite nice. (See link below for menu.)

A Little Taste of Italy Ristorante Teatro is a small Italian restaurant, just round the corner from the King’s Theatre, in between Sauchiehall Street and Bath Street, in Glasgow. The restaurant is said to hold 60 people with a free private function room available.

When we arrived outside, it was a cute little bistro style Italian, that was situated downstairs. We were looking at the menu and realised that the deal that was on 5pm, wasn’t actually that good of a deal after we saw the other ones that were advertised. We had a voucher for a 2 course pre theatre meal, including a bottle of wine per couple for £16.95pp, whereas outside they were advertising the same deal for £12.95pp. This seemed a little bit odd, but we went inside anyway and abandoned the 5pm voucher. To confuse things a little more, we actually ended up going for a 3 course pre theatre meal with tea, coffee and champagne cocktails for £19.95pp as Missus doesn’t drink wine, and we were both starvin’ marvin’ by the time we got there so 3 courses sounded perfect.

So, what did Mister think?

I never like going into a restaurant when we are the first people there, but I guess that’s not the owner’s fault. It’s just the feeling of being watched, and having the waiters being over involved and too nice.  I don’t know how I feel about places that are downstairs and not being able to look out of the windows, for lack of a better word it’s a concern for me. But once we got in and sat down the lights were dimmed and the music was turned up, there was a nicer vibe to it. I didn’t like getting served by what looks to be a manager or owner, as I think they try too hard. But onto the food…

The menu was quite good, a lot of choices, but for starters I ordered the Pate Della Casa (Chicken Liver Pate, Toasted Bread, Mango Chutney and Rocket Salad). I know it’s only Pate but it arrived quickly, which was great. It’s quite hard to get Pate wrong, so I don’t have many faults to say except there could have been better bread to pate ratio, as the last few bites were just pate with a hint of bread. I can’t recall ever having Mango Chutney with Pate before, but I would have it again if it tasted as good as it did then. Excluding the bread portion, it was a very nice starter.

Again, for my main, I went for a simple dish of Spaghetti Carbonara (Pancetta and fresh cream). I only have two faults with the main, and that’s that the portion was a little small for me, and that it might have been nice to have had the bacon cooked through the pasta instead of thrown on top at the end.  The carbonara was cooked well and the sauce was lovely and creamy – if the portion was a little bigger, this would have been a perfect main. 

Before I forget… when we first arrived at the restaurant, we got an appetiser of bread, flavoured oil and olives. It didn’t go down too well, I’d have preferred some balsamic vinegar instead of the oil, and I don’t like olives.

Onto the dessert! I ordered the Rich Italian Chocolate Pot with Amaretti, not being a lover of coffee I was disappointed that the dessert was actually coffee flavoured. I was expecting a chocolate mousse pot, and ended up being a sort of.. unset, gloopy, coffee flavoured chocolate syrup. Instead of the one, tiny amaretti biscuit, it would’ve been far nice if it’d been crushed and sprinkled on top.

Half way through the main course, a man walked in with a guitar. I genuinely just thought it was a customer with a guitar, until he sat down and started to tune it  in the seat opposite us. If anyone has heard a guitarist tuning up, this isn’t a pleasant sound! (The guitarist in me was shouting.. buy some nylon strings!!!). It was very off putting and a very uneasy feeling, whilst you’ve got the Italian opera songs playing from the speaker in one ear and the tuning guitar man in the other. Once he got warmed up, and actually started playing though, he was quite good. Although, it was still a little awkward, and I’d have preferred it if he’d have been on the other side of the room.

The price was too expensive for what we actually got. I wouldn’t mind paying that price we paid (£56.61) for the same meal, if it was a bit better. It annoys me when places automatically add on a service charge, especially when they don’t deserve it (carrying on reading Missus’ experience to find out why..).

Here’s my 5 point sum up:

- Too small

- Too expensive for what we actually got

- Awkward atmosphere

- Food tasted nice

- Wouldn’t go back

Here’s what Missus thought:

I thought the restaurant was so adorable when we first went in. Tables dotted around the room, soft Italian music playing, and when we first sat down at the table, the lights were dimmed. We were the first people there, which was a little off putting, as I couldn’t help thinking.. well, it’s a nice enough place, why isn’t it packed? We were given the menus, and after sussing out which menu we were going to choose from  the 4 (?!) we were given, we ordered. After, another couple came in, and even though were must have been roughly 30 other tables free, they were sat within touching distance of us. The lady asked to be moved as it was too cramped with no privacy, and the manager said that no other tables were set up, but he went and sorted that and they were moved. I excused myself from the table and went to find the bathroom, only to be met with an absolutely tiny space with a toilet that was filthy. This had already set the mood of the night for me, but I put it to the back of my mind. We also heard a lot of shouting coming from the kitchen in between ordering our meals.

For starter, I ordered the Uovo Su Pane (Poached egg, parma ham, dolcelatte cheese on garlic bread). The presentation was really nice, and was surrounded by a rocket salad and some sort of sauce around the plate (later realising that this must have been the Dolcelatte cheese, as that was nowhere else..). The poached egg was beautifully cooked, as soon as I cut into it the yolk covered the bread – lovely. The taste was really nice, a light saltiness from the ‘parma ham’, which actually was a thin gammon slice. The bread was really crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside, clearly homemade – but not garlic bread, which I’m actually relieved as I don’t know how that would have tasted, but if it said it was there, it should have been. But overall, a really nice starter, I really enjoyed it.

I ordered the Pollo Alla Pepe (Breast of Chicken with Black Pepper, Brandy, Fresh Cream, Chicken Stock, Demi Glace). The main thing that really annoyed me to start off with, was the fact that that is all it was. Two halved chicken breasts, in a black pepper corn sauce. No sides, no salad, no potatoes. I had ordered a side of chips already, thankfully, but I was really disappointed – why would you serve that as a main with not even a simple salad to accompany it? After looking at the menu online, it does say that it should come with a ‘Piccolo Mash’, but again, it was not there. But to review the food that I did actually get, it was an unseasoned chicken breast, with a cream sauce over the top. The black pepper corns weren’t crushed enough, so in one bite it would be all peppery, and the next bite there would be none. Then the unthinkable happened.. I found a hair on my plate. It was a short black hair, when both myself and Mister have fairly long hair. I am really touchy over the hygiene in my food, and I’m easily put off, and that just made me feel really ill so I stopped eating it. When the waitress came over, she apologised and said that they would provide a free liquor for the both of us. This again annoyed me, because I don’t like liquor’s and I hadn’t been asked if I did – so it was abit of a waste. Very disappointed at the main.

The dessert I got was the same as Mister, a Rich Italian Chocolate Pot with Amaretti. At this point, I just wanted to leave but I tried it anyway. It was okay, despite it clearly being a coffee based dessert which it didn’t state – and they had put so much icing sugar on top of the dessert that it had made the chocolate lumpy. This was served which a ‘champagne cocktail’, which was just a glass of champagne. I gave this to Mister, and they also brought over our two free Bailey’s, (notice how they didn’t offer what kind of liquor it was that we got free), and I again gave this to Mister. It did make me feel better however, that the man across from us also complained about his starter, the Calamari was apparently rubbery and disgusting – they replaced that for him.

All the food came out very fast, which whilst good, it makes me wonder whether it had been sitting around in the kitchen all day – and it makes it hard to believe that the meals are all made fresh. The actual meal came to £51.60, but after the service charge it was £56.61, and if we had have been paying with cash, I would have just left the £51.60 as I really don’t think they deserve any sort of tip after the service they provided. The meal was definitely too expensive for what we paid, we could have had a Nandos, and I would have thoroughly enjoyed myself more.

My five point sum up:

- Unhygienic

- Bland food

- No customer service

- Too expensive

- Would not go again

 

What’s your thoughts if you’ve ever been here?

Thanks for reading, and remember… Enjoy your meal

Mister and Missus Eats x

 

If you have any reccomendations, please comment below or email us at mister.missus.eats@gmail.com!