Wednesday 7 December 2011

Mountains of the Moon (Indian) - Valle Del Este Golf Resort

Venue:- Mountains of the Moon

Location:- Valle Del Este Golf Resort Vera



Haven’t been to an Indian for a while so thought we would give Mountains a try. The restaurant is set within the commercial centre - right at the back - of the Valle Del Este Golf Resort. The restaurant is a fairly large modern box affair with as much table seating outside as there is in - in fact more outside than in, although this is the ‘cold’ season so eating in only!

We started with the usual poppadoms (60 cents each) and a tray of dips (2.00) which consisted of chopped up onions and tomatoes, lime pickle, mango chutney and the yoghurty minty sauce. We devoured the nice crispy and fresh poppadoms with relish! (ha! Just my little joke) - we don’t like mango chutney so that was left.

For real starters we had the mixed vegetable and meat platter (7.50 for two) which consisted of sheek kebab, onion bahje, vegetable pakora and chicken wings all served with a nice tomato based chilli relish - all very nice.

The mains consisted of all the usual Indian suspects plus a specials section the likes of which I have not come across before - several ‘new’ dishes for me apparently using ‘mothers’ recipe. We decided on a couple of these specials … Firstly the vegetable garlic supreme (8.95), vampires beware, it contains a lot of garlic, the meal could have been done with chicken, lamb or prawns but this diner wanted vegetables. The meal was really delicious, plenty of vegetables with loads of garlic this was accompanied by just plain rice(2.40). I had the Chicken Tikka Malbari a superb dish not too spicy but a wonderful combination of many spices that made the tongue tingle and a very pleasant after taste - I want more! I had this with mushroom rice (2.85).

Desserts - how absolutely wonderful, a restaurant that actually does real Indian puds! I had the Gulab Jamon a sort of sweet doughnut served in a sweet flowery syrup - its difficult to describe but its taste is divine especially if you are sweet toothed. The other was a carrot halwa, a truly magnificent dish normally only served during Indian festivals, here they have it all the time - to make it is a labour of love, it takes hours! The diner wanted more, we haven’t tasted halwa for many many years.

Orange juice at 1.50, pints at 2.50, café con leche at 1.50 and solos at 1.20 completed the meal - Total cost for the two of us 51.15 - a truly superb meal.

Overall this is by far the best Indian that I have eaten in around this area, having tried the Playa and Turre. The restaurant may be a few miles from the Playa but please try it if you like Indian food - we will definitely be going back.

Wednesday 30 November 2011

Orsoca - Turre

Venue :- Orsoca Restaurant and Bar

Location:- Turre - on the hill at the top end of Turre



This has been a favourite of ours for about four years now but each year we have called there has been a change of owners - this year was no exception! The restaurant itself is split into four areas, there is a nice front patio looking out to the high street, then into a long bar area, straight ahead from the bar is a rear dining area and to the right of all this a larger dining area which is used on a Tuesday and Thursday evening for line dancing - there is still plenty of room for diners in the rear room. They have a menu del dia for an extremely reasonable 8 euros - 3 courses, bread and a drink - very good value.

We chose to eat at a lunchtime and ate from the a la carte menu - a plentiful choice, something to please everyone.

Starters:- I had a cheese omelette with a nice sized side salad (3), nicely cooked good sized omelette for a starter, nice mixed salad with just enough dressing for me. The other starter was a mixed large salad (4), a nice large plateful of iceberg lettuce, tomato, sweet corn, carrot, olives and asparagus - delicious, crisp and crunchy - it couldn’t be fresher - it does come with tuna but this diner preferred it without.

Mains :- Emperador (Swordfish) (9) a favourite of the diner! Served with chips and green pepper with a drizzle of garlic butter. Very nice portion, nice hot chips, crispy on the outside fluffy in the middle - what more can one ask! Fish cooked as we like it - all in all very delicious.

I had Mediterranean Merluza (Hake) (7) - This was a lovely piece of hake cross cut so you still had the central bone and skin around it - easily removed from the bone and nicely cooked. It came with several clams - which I love, I could eats hundreds and lots of small prawns (shrimps) which although a bit fiddly to peel were truly sweet and fresh - again I could eat hundreds! The whole lot was served in a large soup bowl in a creamy sauce - not too rich though. The one thing I would have liked was a plate to put the peelings, shells and bones onto and also a finger bowl to clean up after the prawns - ok, that’s two things - I have a tongue in my head I could have asked but I didn’t - enough said.

Desserts:- Both at 3 euros - Rice with lemon and cinnamon, a very nice dish the sweetness countered by the lemon - very nice. Lemon Sorbet - yup! A nice sorbet.

Coffees @ 1.20, juice @ 1.50, beer @ 2.00, glass of red @ 2.50 - bread is inclusive and not charged!

Total cost for the two of us was 37.40 - a very reasonable price for a very nice meal. The restaurant had both Spanish and English dining, the chef is Spanish the only other member of staff doing all the running around English. We will definitely return to this place - give it a try it will not disappoint.

Sunday 27 November 2011

Meson Dona Juana - Torre De La Horadada

Venue:- Meson Dona Juana

Location :- Torre De La Horadada - Murcia



Spent the weekend away and found myself with friends in a large square a mere stones throw from the beach in Torre De La Horadada, there on one side of the square sits the Meson Dona Juana. This to me is a typical Spanish meson with an outside area - now covered in for the winter and a largish interior. The ‘catch of the day’ and the various steaks were displayed in a cabinet separating the inner and outer areas. The night we ate we sat in the outer section in the window overlooking the square - we were the only diners tonight and even the square was very quiet - not unusual for this time of year but we found it quieter than Mojacar area. Ok, lets get down to the food ….

Starters. Good selection of about 10 to 15 starters ranging in the main from 8 to 14 euros a couple cheaper a couple dearer.

Ensalada Templada Dona Juana (13) the house warm salad, which consisted of green leaves, grilled whole cherry tomatoes, warmed goats cheese, walnuts, raisons and drizzled in a honey dressing. A very nice, delicious starter. Crujientes de Berenjena con miel de Romero (11) coated and fried aubergine with rosemary honey. An unusual starter which was basically a tastefully piled up collection of aubergine crisps, plentiful and delicious. Pulpo a la Gallega (13) A Gallega style octopus with olive oil and red pepper powder, again a plentiful plateful of succulent octopus (note! Octopus not squid) which was firm in texture and nicely cooked so not to be rubbery. Lastly Revuelto de Bacalao con ajos tiernos y trigueros (10) - scrambled egg with cod, soft garlic and asparagus. Nice dish but for me too much asparagus and not enough cod, the fish was barely present in taste at least, none the less a tasty dish.

Mains. Four fish choices, six meat a few specials and a rice menu - mains mostly 12 to 16 with the rices 10 to 15 and unusually but good the rice dishes could be ordered for one! We had … Rodaballo Frito con ajos tiernos (16) Fried turbot with soft garlic - a plentiful plate of fried turbot, cross cut so you had the central bone and skin on each of the several pieces, served with potato slices and a few small green peppers - a very tasty dish with mild garlic taste. Entrecote de Ternera a los tres quesos (14) Beef entrecote x2 medium done with chips and a few small peppers - steak cooked as requested, good size - 10oz my guess - and a mild but tasty cheese sauce, I was unable to detect what cheeses were used, a comment, not a criticism. Lastly medallones de solomillo de cerdo a la pimienta (11) - pork medallions with chips and guess what? Small green peppers - once again a nice dish nicely presented and well liked.

Desserts. Leche frita con helado de turron (5) fried and coated milk (egg custard) with turron ice cream. A truly delicious and very Spanish dessert if you haven’t tried it, do so! Pastel de Coco (5) Coconut cake, more a flan with coconut than a cake, but this is what I expected and very nice it was too. Helado de higos en teja con salsa de almendra (5) fig ice cream with almond sauce - another truly Spanish pudding and again very nice. Damn and blast can’t remember the fourth dessert but it must have been good because all the plates were cleared. There are nine desserts to choose from all around 5 euros.

All was washed down with a bottle of rose and a bottle of local shiraz and coffees including one I had not seen before - Bombon, a single shot of coffee served on a layer of condensed milk with a small amount of brandy in it - too sweet for me but liked by the guest.

Unable to give total costs as I was a guest, but I did look at wine prices but not the actual wines and thought the prices steep for a meson. The food is about 10 to 15% more than Mesons in my area - Mojacar.

All in all a very nice meal and I assume that the price paid was typical of the area, but I must say food and drink were cheaper in the four star hotel we stayed in whose restaurant appears in the Michelin guide.

Monday 21 November 2011

El Olivo - Mojacar Playa

Venue:- El Olivo

Mojacar Playa



El Olivo is situated along the Playa from the Commercial Centre just past the chirinquitos of Maui Beach and Patio 2000 across the road from the beach. It is quite a small place with outside seating on a raised balcony and a smallish interior with about 10 tables inside with a bar and views through to a kitchen prep area and the kitchen itself. The restaurant is very neat and tidy and is run by a very nice friendly couple - I believe he may be Belgium and she Dutch, not sure though! We have dined here several times already but mostly from the extensive tapas menu of over 30 dishes - very nice and highly recommended. Today though we eating from the recently updated winter menu. There are two set menus - one for 9 euros, three courses drinks not included or one for 12 euros, two courses with coffee and water, a dessert can be added for a further 3 euros. Also there is a full a la carte to choose from.

We had three meals from the 9 menu and one from the 12.

Starters - warm goats cheese on a bed of salad (x2), three pieces of mild goats cheese on a tastefully dressed salad - very nice. Deep fried camembert (x1) this was delicious 2 pieces of camembert coated in like a nutty crumb and deep fried, the diner wanted more but had to resist because of what was to follow. My starter of Eggs, spinach and bacon (from the 12 menu) consisted of two lightly poached eggs served on a bed of creamed spinach and decorated with strips of bacon - very, very nice a rather large but superb starter.

Mains - Rabbit and chips - several pieces of nicely done rabbit as expected on the bone and plentiful chips made for a nice main. The second choice was Beouf Bourgignon with rice, a plentiful plateful with tender beef in a delicious gravy. Third choice was Coq au Vin again served with rice, delicious chicken in a very tasty red wine sauce. My choice (from the 12) was sole meuniere - a lovely large sole cooked to perfection with butter and a plateful of chips - really nice. All main courses were accompanied with very delicious sweet carrots - a family secret recipe I am told! Oh! Almost forget bread was plentiful and not charged for.

Desserts - I had cheese (had to pay extra 3 as I was on the 12 menu) which consisted of a requested blue cheese and brie and some cream crackers - very nice cheese, it would have been nice to have some varied crackers, an observation really not a complaint. The homemade chocolate mousse was to die for and the giant profiteroles equally good. Pints coffee and water accompanied the meal.

Total cost for all food and drink came to 49.80 euros - excellent value for money!

As said before we have been here often and will continue to frequent this place as it is consistently good and offers a friendly service with a nice ambience to complement the always delicious food.

Sunday 20 November 2011

Miraflores at Camping Los gallardos

Venue:- Miraflores Restaurant and Bar

Location:- Camping Los Gallardos



The restaurant and bar are open to non residents of Camping Los Gallardos which is situated just along the road from the village of Los Gallardos. The restaurant itself is a large ‘L’ shaped room with an adjoining bar and a large room for functions set at a slightly lower level. The residents are all British and the restaurant menu reflects this although I am told that they do have Spanish food (paella) sometimes.

Six of us dined this evening and only sampled the main courses although both starters and desserts were available. Two people had the gammon with chips one with a pineapple ring the other a fried egg on top. Nice size, well cooked gammon which was rather nice the chips were plentiful and crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Two others had the salmon - portions varied a lot here - one piece of salmon was twice the size of the other! The salmon was cooked through and tasty and was served with new potatoes and peas or salad - both had salad which was a fairly small portion. The next meal was ‘the pie of the day’ - beef and onion served with mashed potatoes and a selection of vegetables, it was ok with the main comment being where is the onion? The final meal was chicken curry and rice - again ok, but very average. To complete the average, the price was that as well - they claim the pint at 2.20 is the cheapest around - well I know several places (not on the Playa) where it is only 2.00 euros. Oh! They also have a pizza menu.

Overall the meals here cater to the Brits on site , and why not there are a lot of them and so give them what they want - unfortunately its not what I want! I come to Spain for the Spanish lifestyle and that includes the culture, food and language - for me if you want to live in a British ‘compound’ and not integrate then stay in Britain - rant over! Do what you like, its your life, enjoy it!

On a positive note on a Friday they do fish and chips - now this is very, very good, you need to book for this - the last couple of times we visited they had 110 one night and 125 the other all having the very large fish and nicely cooked chips.

Finally this is not the restaurant for me (except fish and chips) but if you are in the Los Gallardos area and fancy chatting to a load of Brits about the weather back home while eating a reasonable priced meal - the menu is in English only, then go for it.

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Venta El Molina - Mojacar Playa/Carboneras Road

Venue :- Venta El Molino

Location :- On the road between Mojacar Playa and Carboneras about five miles past Hotel Indalo.



Sunday - where shall we go for a typical Spanish lunch? Well we settled for The ‘Venta El Molino’ a typical Spanish place with only Spaniards eating, the restaurant is basically a large square box with lots of seating and an outside seating area. No menu! Everything is read out, but as it was Sunday the choice was barbecue or barbecue. All meat choices nothing else - cavemen rejoice! The beef and lamb was 22 euros and the pork, rabbit and chicken was 20 euros - we had a plate of each except the rabbit.

The price included a salad starter, bread and oil/aioli, the meat, a homemade dessert and all you could drink - fatal in our case!

The meat was very plentiful and a doggy bag was needed to transport home the leftovers - the local dog charity has never had it so good! Everybody enjoyed the meat which was all cooking nicely on the barbecue. We decided to have wine with the meal - beer was bottled Estrella Levante - started off with a very large carafe of red, followed by a second very large carafe of red followed by yet another carafe of red wine - Yes! I managed to stay awake that evening and watched television, next morning was a bit rough though.

Desserts consisted of a very nice homemade bread pudding, El Flan and an almond sponge cake - all served with what appeared to be a wedge of Vienetta ice cream. All very nice.

All in all the meal was an absolute caveman feast, a meat lovers dream come true - unlimited drink proved our downfall. The place was buzzing with Spaniards of all types a table of ten blokes, a family or two with children, mixed groups of all ages.

You do not need to speak Spanish our waitress was very good at English, but all other servers were Spanish only.

Highly recommended if you want a meat feast - vegetarians keep out!

Thursday 10 November 2011

La Parata - Parata Hills above the Playa

Venue:- La Parata bar/restaurante

Location :- La Parata

Along Mojacar to the stables roundabout then head up the hill towards Parata - the

restaurant is about 1.5k up the hill on the left.



The Parata is a lovely restaurant in a delightful setting, the outdoor patio area looks down onto a swimming pool whereas the view across the Parata is of the several nice villas spread out across the hillside. The restaurant caters for both lunch and evening and has a menu del dia - we opted for the a la carte.

Starters. Avocado with prawns (6.50) in a Marie rose sauce, the avocado was perfectly ripe the prawns delicious with a tasty sauce. Duck Spring rolls (5.50) five (or was it six!) small filo pastry duck rolls with a sweet chilli sauce and small side salad. The rolls were very nice and had some sort of creamy sauce in them, I expected just duck and maybe some bean sprouts or something similar. For me the sauce in the rolls did not go with the chilli - no problem! I ate the rolls separately and dunked my salad into the chilli sauce - very nice, chilli sauce with a lingering after bite.

Mains. Green pea and chilli risotto (8.00), quite fancied a rice dish today and this fitted the bill perfectly , nice creamy risotto with just the right amount of peas and chilli - maybe I would ask for extra chilli in the future, but then I do like chillies! The other main was also a risotto, this time porcini (8.75) - various mushrooms in an even more creamy rice. Very nice.

Desserts. Brownie and ice cream (4.00) warm, choc lately brownie which contained a few nuts (we think) with a nice vanilla ice cream drizzled in chocolate sauce - yummy. Crepes (4.00) - two fresh crepes drizzled with chocolate sauce and ice cream accompaniment, again very nice.

Café solo (1.00) Con Leche (1.20) Pint (2.90) 1/3 mineral water (1.00)

Total cost of meal 45.75.

This is a very nice restaurant run to high standards, we have been several times before and never been disappointed. This is the first write up as we have visited so many eateries that I haven’t been able to keep up! Give this place a try, you will not be disappointed.

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Restaurante Andalucia - Garrucha

Venue:- Restaurante Andalucia

Location:- Paseo Malecon Garrucha

Just along the front from Mojacar when you reach Garrucha





Not having eaten in Garrucha for a while so thought we would give it go today (Sunday) for lunch. We stopped at the first restaurant we came to regardless and plonked ourselves down on a table for two right on the edge of the road! I could have reached out and shaken the hands of passengers in passing cars it was that close to the edge! The outside area is typical along the front at Garrucha - a few (or more) sheltered tables right on the road with a passage way through for pedestrians between the tables and the restaurant itself - allowing the waiters to attempt to draw you in - a task they were very good at, I reckon without their co-ertion the restaurant would have been empty!

We only fancied a light lunch but the menu is predominantly fish - fresh, as one would expect. The special of the day was a fish platter consisting of a sea bream, sea bass, prawns, mussels, clams and squid with a drink thrown in at 30 euros for two - a reasonable price I thought although I didn’t see anybody with this dish. We settled for a seafood paella (20.00) for two, it consisted of 2 langoustines, 2 prawns, 3 mussels, 5 clams, lots of quid legs and a small amount of white fish and of course the rice! The paella was very tasty but no better than anywhere else and quite frankly I thought they were very stingy with the shell fish, we normally are left with piles of shells from other places although with the prawns and langoustines two of each is normal, but c’mon at least half a dozen mussels each and more clams.

For dessert had the usual Flan (3.50) , no better, no worse than anyway. Pina (4.00) - fresh pineapple, a bit pricey for a slice of fresh pineapple. Café con leche at 1.50 and solo at 1.50 and bread at .75 each. Fresh orange juice @ 2.00 and Beer at a whopping 4.00 a ½ litre! Wow! And double wow! The dearest I have paid since being in Spain - even the four star Melia hotels and Crown Plaza hotels charge less!

Total cost of the meal was 43.50 euros

Overall the meal was only average and the price too expensive and the location - not great. Have only eaten in Garrucha twice since being here and both times I have thought it too expensive - probably my last report from Garrucha.

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Toscana - Mojacar Playa

Venue:- Ristorante Toscana

Location:- Mojacar Playa (paseo del Mediterraneo 219)

Contacts:- Phone 950 472 907

Jeremy Stent 673 160 248

Teddo Peeren 672 828 454

Email:-
info@restaurantetoscana.es

Website:- www.restaurantetoscana.es (under construction but menu available)

 

We so liked this place that after we had Friday evening dinner we booked for Sunday lunch! The restaurant comes into the fine dining bracket and is set across from the beach one floor up so that you have uninterrupted views of the Med. The chef Jeremy Stent comes with some glowing credentials - The Ivy and Shepherds in London and the Royal Mirage Dubai. The menu has a fine choice of starters, pastas, pizzas fish and meats with a nice range of desserts. Seating is mostly inside with large patio windows that be opened fully to allow the balmy Med weather to enter the light airy spacious interior. The staff were polite and attentive to our every need without being intrusive - on to the food.

I have not detailed the evening menu, but will in a future review, this is just the Sunday lunch.

Sunday lunch is 15.00 euros a head which consists of a main course of sirloin of beef, roast potatoes, large yorkshire pudding peas, carrots and cauliflower cheese. The dessert this week was bread and butter pudding made with Panetone and served with custard. The meal also includes a glass of cava.

The above is the only choice for lunch but the a la carte is always available.

We were asked how we liked our beef - 2 x pink and 1 x well done - and it was done as requested and delicious (2 slices), the potatoes were roasted in goose fat (I think!) and very nice and crispy on the outside and fluffy and soft on the inside. The yorshire was large and very nice - a real Yorkie, none of your Aunt Bessies here! The accompanying vegetables were beautifully cooked ’al dente’ but not too ’al dente’. The gravy was rich, but not too rich, and plentiful. The lunch was considered a success but a hungry person may have wanted more - it was perfect for us. The lunch was washed down with a fine Rioja Reserva.

Dessert was very nice and perfect size for us, but again a hungry person may want more.

This is not your average Playa Sunday lunch but a step or two up to a very nice lunch - try it and see if you agree. To quote a famous saying ‘you’ve tried the rest now try the best’.






Casa Adelina - Turre

Venue:- Casa Adelina

Location:- Top of Turre main street ( on the hill)

Casa Adelina has been around a long while and we have liked it in the past so we thought it was time for another visit. The restaurant sits on the hill as you leave Turre heading away from Mojacar towards the motorway. There is a large outdoor seating area with comfortable chairs - didn’t go inside so I am unable to comment on the interior. We had lunch from the a la carte.

Starters consisted of Sardines grilled (7.00) - four nice sized sardines delicious and fresh, a perfect start. Soup with noodles and chicken (5.00) - a light chicken broth with small noodles and chicken breast, again a nice light starter. Garlic bread with garlic and salt (1.00 per person).

Mains were ternera salsa champinones (9.00) - a delicious veal casserole in a nice mushroom sauce with a small side of roasted red and green peppers and scalloped potatoes - very tasty, two of us had this dish and both devoured it all ---- the local cat did try a small piece of veal! The other main was Pollo Plancha (9.00) - this consisted of a large flattened chicken breast grilled and covered in garlic sauce again served with the peppers and scalloped potatoes - very nice, difficult to get it wrong - Pollo Asado (roasted chicken) is still the favourite of this diner though. The scalloped potatoes were nice crispy and garlicky and liked by all diners.

Desserts were the house flan(3.00), good but no better than most places and chocolate mousse(4.00) which was very nice.

Café solo (1.10), con leche (1.20), agua con gas (1.00) - for ½ litre, Cerveza (2.60 pint)

Total cost for three people 65.90 - very reasonable I thought for what we had.

Just something to note, the restaurant was full and we were the only Brits - if the Spanish like it then it must be good and good value. One further point most tables had a plateful of snails in tomato sauce to share - we didn’t try them but the locals seemed to love ‘em.

Portofino restaurante - Mojacar Playa

Venue :- Pizzeria Portofino

Location :- Marina Nuevo Siglo - Mojacar Playa

(on the beach side of the road)

Phone:- 950 47 28 09

Web:-
www.pizzeriaportofino.es

 

Restaurant Portofino is a narrowish restaurant with plastic tables and chairs outside on the road side, then a bar area, then a tastefully decorated interior dining section followed by a fairly large exterior covered dining section right on the beach - we chose to eat inside as it was a bit blowy outside, but others didn’t seem to mind. The restaurant says it is a pizzeria - which it is - but it also a proper restaurant with pasta dishes, meat and fish dishes too. We had a la carte lunch.

Ham and Melon (8.00) - a nice plateful of Serrano ham and juicy white fleshed melon - very tasty and quite filling. Saquitos de hojaldre rellenos (9.00) - small deep fried filo ‘sacks’ with different fillings, hammy ones, herby ones and fishy ones but all were all highly spiced with oregano - very delicious I thought. Really they are a variation of the croquetas that you get everywhere - beware the ones that are not homemade! Ahumados Variados (14.00) a very, very tasty selection of smoked fish - anchovies, smoked salmon, smoked white fish (not sure what) and smoked tuna and it came with capers and finely diced onion with a balsamic dressing.

For mains we had - ravioli de carne fiorent (8.50) a big plateful of meaty ravioli in a very herby (oregano again), mushroom and courgette sauce - the sauce was superb, the ravioli ok - did they make the ravioli themselves? I think not, but am willing to be corrected on this. The other two meals were both Pollo Asado (9.00). This was declared a hit! The chicken (half a bird) was well roasted with crispy skin but retained its moistness. The potato was a baked spud which came with a small amount of mixed roasted peppers in a garlic.

Too full for desserts!

Café solo (1.20), Con Leche (1.50) Agua con Gas (1.50) and cerveza (2.80) pint.

A very nice restaurant which we will happily visit again - total cost for three people 74.40.

Note - they have a sister restaurant in Mojacar Pueblo - La Muralla - 950 47 29 28

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Le Bistrot - Mojacar Playa

Venue:- Le Bistrot

Location :- Mojacar Playa (best Indalo end)

Decided to try French this evening and went to the Le Bistrot restaurant, a small restaurant with both a small outside and small inside seating area, seats very comfortable and the place had a nice ambience about it even though there was only us and another couple dining. The couple who own the place seem to run it between them, the man (French) does the cooking and his wife (Dutch) does the front of house serving the drinks, taking the orders and generally looking after the diners. The menu is small typical French in style and should have something for everyone - we had dinner.

Starters -

Two types of salmon (smoked and gravalax) tartare - two of us started with this and it was delicious, served from a timbale with crispy toast and sour cream and chives. The salmon tartare was very nice, delicately flavoured with herbs and lemon juice, the lemon not overpowering the taste of the salmon.

The other starter was warm goats cheese on rings of toast with a bed of salad with a crushed almond topping - very nice, three rings of cheese, nice salad with an excellent dressing just right for a starter course. I believe the starters were all around 8.50 each.

The mains consisted of ….

I had fresh sea bass fillets which came with a small slice of onion quiche and a very delicious layered potato cake - potato, courgette and tomato I think with a fairly strong hint of basil which really made the taste for me. A very nice dish, fish nicely cooked and presented, accompaniments - delicious.

Then a gigot of lamb with the same extras. We were actually asked how we liked the lamb - very unusual, the French tend to serve as they like it (almost raw!) not how the diner wants it! This was requested pink and sure enough it came pink - it was declared superb.

Lastly plain grilled salmon with the same veggies as the other mains. The salmon was cooked through - yippee, it wasn’t served half done. Once more this was declared very good - if we must complain then we would have liked crispy skin, but never mind we didn’t eat that bit and I am sure had we asked the skin would have been crispied. Mains were around the 14.50 mark.

Desserts ..

We just had to have a go.

I had a trio of desserts with coffee - crème brulee, tart tatin and chocolate cake - delicious.

Crème brulee on its own - very nice.

Lastly Tart Tatin - again very nice (4.50 a pop)

We had a couple of beers to start, some water, coffees and went a bit mad on the wine front - a bottle of Mercurey 2009 for a whopping 26.00!! Well it was worth it, don’t see Mercurey around much and it was nice for a change.

Overall the meal was very good, the service and ambience excellent, the price what we would expect from that type of restaurant. Would we go again? Yup.

Monday 24 October 2011

Torre Bahia - Mojacar Playa

Venue:- Restaurante Torre Bahia

Location :- Calle Torre Bahia Mojacar Playa

(Off the Playa near The Blue Lagoon)



A nice restaurant a few yards off the main Playa offering a spacious outdoor patio both covered and open and an equally spacious interior. The seating is comfortable and the tables spaced well, it has a nice ambience and the covered outdoor area was full the day we dined - evening a la carte.

Starters:-

Aguacate con Gambas (7.00) - avocado prawns with a nice lot of salad garnish, a very nice satisfying starter with a very tasty avocado and freshly peeled large prawns.

Sopa de champinones (3.75) - mushroom soup - tasty and fresh, nothing more to add.

Revueltos salmon ahumado (5.25) - scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, delicious, a nice sized portion but just one failing for me, balsamic vinegar was sprinkled on the dish, I do not like balsamic vinegar! Never the less the dish was very nice - I ate the bits covered in the balsamic first! Why oh why can a restaurant not serve what it says on the menu, the balsamic could and should have been placed on the table to add as desired.

Mains:-

Platija plancha (7.50) grilled plaice with garlic butter with frittied potatoes carrots and peas. The fish although it was a flat fish was not plaice as we know it, the flesh was too soft and not the right consistency for plaice - it was mostly devoured but the fish declared too soft.

Conejo al Ajillo (8.50) - grilled rabbit with garlic, several chunks of lovely garlic coated rabbit - very nice indeed. Came with the same potatoes, peas and carrots as above. If you don’t mind getting the meat from the bones then give this a whirl it is superb - boneless eaters steer clear!

Parillada de Carne (9.50) mixed grill consisting of steak, chicken, bacon (belly I think) sausage and a fried egg on top - and guess what potatoes, peas and carrots. The meal was a plateful and was very nice, a good size if you are hungry.

Puds:-

Crumble Manzana Caramello (3.50) a nice apple crumble with custard.

Arroz con leche (3.00) a nice warm rice pudding.

Coffees at 1.00, pint beer at 2.50, tubo at 1.50, water at 1.50 and bread x3 .30 each. Had a bottle of Ribera tempranillo from the Moro stable at 14.00

Overall a very nice meal and restaurant the total cost being 71.40 - we will return.

Rincon Del Puerto (Garrucha)

Venue:- Restaurante Rincon Del Puerto

Location :- Port of Garrucha at the lighthouse



The restaurant is on the beach side of the road overlooking the harbour. It is a large restaurant with an outdoor drink and snack area and outdoor dining area and an inside dining area. The restaurant specializes in the local catch and is well frequented by Spanish people. We went for lunch and ate from the a la carte.

Starters.

Gazpacho (4.00) - very nice gazpacho, plenty of it and very delicious, loads of red peppers, green peppers, onions and tomatoes - didn’t add the cheapo nasty mini breadsticks, make real croutons - how long does it take? This is probably once of the best gazpachos around. The other was a mixed salad (6.00), very nice plentiful salad with all the usual bits including tuna.

Mains.

Emperador (15.00) - nice large piece of sword fish done ‘a la plancha’ and served with garlic potatoes and a grilled tomato. The tomato was grilled, lovely, would have liked more! The potato was again lovely with plentiful garlic pieces in it - very nice. The fish cooked perfectly, boneless and skinless and plentiful - very nice. The other was the fish platter twice (20.00 each) - a nice platter consisting of sardines, calamari, baby squid and bocorones - a plentiful plate, nice.

Drinks - Cerveza at 3.50 a pint, normal for this area, water 1.00 coffee at 1.20 and bread at 1.00. The food here is always excellent but I feel it is well overpriced, I have had better tasting, more fish variety and cheaper fritura elsewhere - ie. Sol Y Playa at Carboneras. Still if you are in the area and don’t mind the prices give it whirl it will not disappoint. Total cost for 3 people 83.20.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Fantasia - Mojacar Playa

Venue:- Restaurante Fantasia

Location:- Mojacar Playa

Website:-
www.restaurantefantasia.com

Phone:- 950 475 127

Fantasia is a beach front restaurant and bar situated along the Playa at the Best Hotel Indalo end. The restaurant was given a makeover last year and looks very good with its black and red décor and table linen. This restaurant probably does have one of the best views out to sea from the playa as it is set just back off the beach with bushes directly outside the large panoramic windows, then the cycle path, more shrubbery then the promenade more shrubbery then onto the beach with swaying palms - very nice.

We went for lunch and ate from the a la carte (menu del dia was 10.95).

Starters -

Caprese salad (7.95) - a plentiful plate of tomato. Onion and mozzarella cheese drizzled with olive oil. A very nice dish, well presented and very tasty.

Ensalada Cesar (8.95) - A Very nice Caesar salad with chicken pieces, plenty of it ideal as a main dish if not too hungry - all devoured.

Finally a deep fried brie (5.00) with sweet chilli dip and small salad - delicious brie cooked just right, not so hot it burned the mouth, nice sweet chilli sauce - sweet with a nice chilli bite. The side salad complemented it well.

Mains -

Do it myself pizza (9.75), a basic margarita with added double hot pepperoni and Roquefort (heart attack special! Its to die for!) - ate the lot, the pepperoni was ‘real’ hot pepperoni, not the often served cheap salami style pepperoni - I fancied pizza and it did the trick.

Escalope Milanese (13.95) - two huge pieces of thin veal coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried - delicious but it was a lot and it came with spaghetti and tomato sauce which went well with the veal.

Linguini Marisco (13.95) a simple pasta with large prawns and drizzled with chilli oil - very nice and nice hot chilli oil - rated the best so far.

We dipped out on the desserts as we all had had enough with the previous courses.

We had beer Mahou at 3.00, water at 1.75 and coffees at 1.50 each.

Total cost of the meal 76.30 - very good for what we had, in a nice setting - we will be back.

Sol Y Playa - Carboneras

Venue:- Sol Y Playa

Location :- Carboneras Playa (desalination end)

Walking along the promenade from the beginning towards the desalination plant you pass many café/bar/restaurants, but for us the best of the bunch is Sol Y playa - a large restaurant with a nice shaded outside terrace overlooking the sea, an interior section and then a further section that appears even more a fine dining area. The place is very Spanish and you will not be offered an English menu, although they must have them. You can have anything from Tapas and a drink, through raciones to full a la carte - its Sunday, the day for a leisurely lunch so a la carte it is - the restaurant was very full with mainly Spanish people - speaks volumes for quality and service.

Starters -

Ensalada Cogollos (8.00) - don’t know cogollos and it not in our ‘dick and harry’ but we think it is a type of lettuce, little gem maybe? - anyway it came with the lettuce draped with fresh anchovies with tomatoes and a pineapple ring in the centre decorated with a few pieces of sweet corn. A very nice concoction the anchovies nice and fresh as was the salad - very nice and a good size.

Boquerones Fritos (8.00) - quite large whitebait that had been cleaned and beheaded, nicely done and presented and delicious with a squib of lemon juice. Everybody tried some and all were well satisfied with the lovely fresh flavour.

Gazpacho Andaluz (4.20) - a total disaster! Croutons already added, no bits to add and it was ’fizzy’. Thought if may have contained cava but the waiter said ‘no’. I tried it and it definitely was not right, we told the waiter as we could not eat it and he just seemed a little surprised but did not offer an alternative. This is purely personal but I believe it was on the turn and should not have been served!

Mains -

Merluza Plancha (11.00) - one of my favourite fish this (hake) and it seems a Spanish favourite as well. The two large pieces of fish were simply cooked with a nice garlic and oil dressing and served with potatoes and a small mixed veg. The fish was cooked to my liking - ie. Not undercooked! I hate undercooked fish! The fish was cross cut so had a ring of skin and the central bone still with it, not a problem as the fish fell away from the bone and the skin peeled easily if you didn’t want to eat it - I did and it was delicious.

Arroz Con Bogabante (40.00 for two) - this was a seafood Paella with an added whole lobster. The rice was excellent and there was plenty of large mussels and large clams not the usual small tasteless ones that you normally get. There was also calamari and it was topped with a whole lobster halved with the appropriate implements for claw cracking. A very very nice paella probably one of the best we have eaten anywhere so far - expensive maybe but it did contain a whole lobster, to have just a mixed seafood paella would have been 26.00.

Too full for postres, drinks were beer at 3.00 per pint, water at 1.60 and bread for three at a total of 1.00 - coffees on the house.

Total cost for three people was 85.80 - again I thought this reasonable for what we had.

If you want a leisurely meal with a nice outlook give this place a whirl, you can spend a lot less and I am sure you will enjoy whatever you have - we will return.




Monday 17 October 2011

Riad Cabrera (Fatimas) - Sierra Cabrera

Venue:- Riad Cabrera (Fatimas)

Cuisine:- Arabic & Mediterranean

Location:- Above Turre in the Sierra Cabrera

GPS 37.114011, -1.915135

Email :-
riadcabrera@hotmail.com

Phone:- 950 092 042 or 617 854 183

Riad Cabrera more commonly known as Fatimas (Fatima Mouhib Housini) is a beautiful restaurant, definitely in the fine dining bracket. To get to it you either follow the signs out of Turre village (from Mojacar direction) to Pastores - a steep left turn before you reach the cemetery , Fatimas is about 5 km along a long winding road climbing into the Sierra - the road is good. If you pass the cemetery either turnaround or carry on to the main entrance to the Cabrera and then follow the arrows to Fatimas - slightly longer journey, road much rougher but very pretty - try going up one way and coming back the other. The restaurant is beautifully laid out in a very Arabic style with very neat white linen tablecloths and blue or white napkins, the seating is comfortable with the chairs also being covered in white - the interior is a delight to behold. The outside area consists of a large open terrace with lots of seating, the style is very Arabic with a nice fountain at the rear and many plants and trees, the place is beautifully lit at night.

The menu has lots of choice of fish, meat and vegetarian - Arabic or Mediterranean, you can also let Fatima devise a sampler menu for you - price according to choice. The prices/courses we tried are typical of the menu as a whole.

Fatima seated us at our table and handed us our napkins with a pair of tongs. The napkins were held by a delightful decorated swirl, the like of which I have not seen before. There was an ‘amuse bouche’ of hommous on Moroccan flat bread - very nice.

Starters - Salmorejo Gazpacho (6.00) - a tasty gazpacho with red pepper, green pepper and onion to add as required - a delicious soup described as beautiful - praise indeed from a person who has gazpacho at least three times a week! Rissotto con fungi (12.00) - excellent creamy rissotto with an assortment of fungi - very tasty. I opted for a Moroccan dish 3 x Brewatte (spelling?) baccalao - an Arabic samosa stuffed with cod and raisins - not as sweet as you might expect, and the pastry I have not seen before, a sort of a bubbly filo, crispy and delicious not brittle like filo - absolutely to die for, more please! But wait mains to follow. We believe all the rolls to be homemade (3.00) for 3 - an assortment of very delicious rolls.

Mains - Tagin de Ciervo (14.00) A venison tagine with carrot, guava, goji berries and pumpkin - a delicious concoction with a lovely ‘gravy’ which was mopped up with some of the bread rolls. The second main was lamb cous cous (12.00) - lamb, cous cous, pumpkin and loads of chick peas were the main ingredients - absolutely scrummy, the juices were superb - the last time anything like this was eaten was in Marrakesh years ago. Finally I had the Carre Cordero al Horno (15.00) - a large piece of boneless lamb served Arabic style with boiled new potatoes in a creamy vegetable mix and some mixed veggies (normally served with pumpkin but I do not like pumpkin). The lamb just fell away and was cooked beautifully, the potatoes mopped up the delicious gravy/sauce. A super choice I thought - I would have it again.

Desserts - Mixed Morrroqui (5.00) a selection of Moroccan desserts - similar to baklava - delicious and different. Tarta de pasas y miel (5.00) - Moroccan dessert, similar to bread pudding as we know it - a lovely taste, thoroughly enjoyed it. Now for my dessert - helado de queso (6.00) - blue cheese ice cream served with nuts and honey - vile you are thinking, Heston Blumenthal must have visited! But no, the blue cheese ice cream (Roquefort) with the honey and nuts were very very tasty, it was truly delicious - I would have it again and again.

Fatima looked after us to start then handed the reins to a very proficient waiter - 10/10.

To finish a couple of Marroqui mint teas at 2.00 a pop - if you don’t like it sweet then ’sin azucar, else it comes very sweet - very minty, very refreshing. We started with a couple of beers and an orange juice and a very fine bottle of Ribera wine at 29.00 - well it is a special place.

Total for the evening was 127.98 for three people - you could pay a lot less, but we thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend the restaurant to anyone. Enjoy - we will be back.

Saturday 15 October 2011

La Gaviota retaurante and Pizzeria - Mojacar Playa

Venue:- La Gaviota Restaurante & Pizzeria

Location :- Mojacar Playa - opposite the stables - upstairs.



We have visited this restaurant in previous years and not a lot has changed, even has the same staff - as far as we can remember. The location is good, the restaurant open and airy and the seating is comfortable. There is a menu de la noche for 10 euros, a pizza menu where most are less than 10 euros and the a la carte with all the usual Italian suspects plus other Mediterranean choices - we opted for the a la carte.

Starters - Gambas Pil Pil times two (9.95 each) requested and served extra spicy - prawns fresh and peeled with a very hot garlic and chilli oil - no bread was forthcoming to mop up the resulting juices so some was requested and charged at 50 cents each - could have least thrown that in as the gambas was 9.95! The other starter was an ensalada Caprese (4.50) - basically tomato with two cheeses, one hard and one soft and crumbly - very nice, just right, not too filling.

Mains - Spaghetti Carbonara (6.75) - excellent, plenty of bacon pieces with a delicious creamy sauce.

Spaghetti with chilli and garlic (6.50) - simple, straightforward and very tasty.

Now I had Mero which translates as Grouper (14.00), the waiter assured me that this was what we call turbot so I had it. Now I am no expert but it didn’t taste like turbot to me, checked when I got home and found grouper and turbot to be completely different fish - whatever it was it was delicious and came with a creamy but not too rich prawn sauce with a few patatas fritas and some beans, carrots and cabbage - all gone!

Desserts - Ice cream - well ice cream is ice cream, it is what I wanted.

Profiteroles with ice cream - nice vanilla ice cream with two perfectly nice profiteroles either side.

Fresh fruit salad - kiwi, melon, orange and pineapple - very nice.

All came in at 3.75 a go.

We had a bottle of rather nice, rather pricey (for Spain) bottle of Cautivo Baroja Crianza for 15.00 euros - house wine was 6.50 a bottle.

Total bill for three people 89.20 euros - very good meal and we were happy with price, we will return. Three menu de la noche and a bottle of house would have set you back 36.50 by comparison.

Friday 14 October 2011

La Montana - Bedar/Lubrin road

Venue:- La Montana

Location:- On the road between Bedar and Lubrin

Phone :- 950 39 8856 (Nb. This is the new land line number)

Decided for a run through the mountains today and head for La Montana a small restaurant/bar tucked away in the hills beyond Bedar. We went for lunch - there is no menu del dia, but we already knew that having visited in the past. Your hosts Mathew and Carol (formerly from Finca Listonero) will make you welcome as you peruse their fine dining menu while sipping a drink outside on the patio area. The restaurant itself is split into two small sections either side of the main entrance with the bar at the back - seating is intimate and comfortable and when the cold arrives real fires can be lit in the corner.

There are about five or six choices of all courses and we had the following …

Gazpacho (well it is Spain!) - tasty soup with onion and green pepper to add to taste, delicious.

Fig salad - superb, declared ‘probably the best I have eaten’ - figs from the tree outside, local salad, dressed with their own olive oil (some infused with rosemary and garlic).

Croquettes - not your run of the mill ham and potato, no, these were spinach and pine kernels, exquisite flavour with I thought wonderful.

Mains .

Chicken stuffed with blue cheese and chorizo wrapped in bacon and served with new potatoes and a side of roasted mixed peppers and courgettes. A large breast with a delicious filling - the plate was cleared (oh! Left a small potato - I wanted dessert!)

The others both had pork loin with mash and the same veggies - one pork was done with a blue cheese sauce the other a mustard sauce - again delicious.

Desserts ..

Impossible pie for 3! What is that you ask? Well it is a pie with a pastry base topped with a lemon custard and that topped with almonds - we ate the lot!

Pints with meal (2.50) water and coffees to follow - all a very reasonable 78.50.

This is fine dining in a rural setting - a better meal would be difficult to find - we will return.

Azeefa Cocina India - Mojacar Playa

Venue:- Azeefa Cocina India

Mojacar Playa (opposite the riding stables and upstairs)

Thought we would give the Indian a whirl tonight and decided to try Azeefa on the Playa. Now after perusing the menu and eyeing the waiters we had a feeling of deja-vu and yet we have never eaten here before! Ah! we believe this to be a sister retaurant of Chili Pizza in Turre which we think is a very nice Indian. The setting is much lighter and airier than in Turre, not sure if the menu is the same or the prices different. But here goes ...

Just had beer and water to drink - a note about the drink - ask for a pint and you get .4 of a litre which is only .7 of a pint and they charge 2.50 for it - fairly standard along the Playa but it isn’t a pint! If you do the sums then it actually works out at 3.57 euros for a pint - VERY expensive, the dearest we have had!

We tried the mixed starters to begin (8.50 for two) and shared them between the three of us - lamb tikka, chicken tikka, sheek kebab, onion bhaji, prawns, vegetable pakora and one meat and vegetable samosa - all very tasty and just tickled the taste buds ready for round two.

Vindaloo chicken (7.10) with pilau rice (2.70) and Bhindi Bhaji (4.50) , tasty vindaloo not too hot with delicious potatoes (aloo) in it. The pilau rice was colourful and very fragrant, the bhindi (okra/ladies fingers) was nicely done and not at all slimy which can happen with okra, altogether a delicious meal.

Chicken Jalfrezi (8.50) with pilau rice - nice sauce medium/hot with tasty chicken and plenty of peppers, onion and tomato - delicious all devoured.

Manchurian chicken (8.50) with a keema nan (2.60) - this is a new one on me, the chicken tikka was served in a medium sauce flavoured with fresh mint giving an altogether different twist - it was superb. The nan bread wasn’t quite what we were used to, but it was nice and soaked up the minty juices well.

The size of the meal was in our opinion perfect, we cleared the plates but to have more would have just been pigging out - a really hungry person may think the portions slightly on the small side - we didn’t.

The only desserts available were a small selection of ice cream - boring! We declined. Coffees followed then a drinkie on the house. When the bill arrived - a very reasonable 64.30, it had three mini magnum ice creams with it, a nice touch and a pleasant change to the usual sweets.

A very nice restaurant, nice setting, we will definitely revisit - shame about the beer rip-off!!

Meson Verfran - Los Gallardos (menu del dia)

Venue :- Meson Verfran

Los Gallardos village



Meson Verfran in Los G. is a typical Spanish bar/restaurant well frequented by the locals. We went for lunch and the ‘menu del dia’ and being Spanish there is no menu, you ask and the menu will be recited - in Spanish! If you do not know the language you will probably struggle as often there are regional dishes which you will not know what it contains - a bit like a Spaniard trying to fathom out shepherds pie, Irish stew or Bakewell tart. The real Spanish restaurants are in my opinion the best for the ‘menu del dias’.

So what did we have …

There were at least 5 or 6 choices for every course …

A plate of mixed salad was put on the table at the start - lettuce, tomato, onion, and tuna and also some crusty bread. The starters consisted of two local dishes of which I do not know the names but were .. Firstly an egg soup which contained vermicelli and bacon and of course egg - very eggy taste that I thought was superb, my partner was not so keen. The other dish consisted of tripe, belly pork and chick peas in a broth and was declared very tasty (not my cup of tea!).

For mains we had the house croquettes - five in all very creamy with bacon and potato the others had roast chicken pieces with chips and roasted peppers and maybe some other veggies (can’t remember). All quite satisfied.

Desserts consisted of home made lemon mousse - light and quite tangy.

The meal was accompanied by a couple of pints, water and coffee to follow.

Everything all inclusive was just 10 euros each - an absolute bargain.

Brush up your Spanish and give a try, hopefully it will not disappoint.

Tuesday 11 October 2011

El patio 2000, Maui Beach, Los Olivos, Orsoca, Jamon Jamon, Sol Y Playa

EL PATIO 2000

For me this is the best chirinquito ‘beach bar’ along the Playa - its been around for donkeys and is rustic, all types of weathered seating and tables, very comfortable and everything a ‘real’ beach bar should be. Prices typical along the Playa but we go particularly for the Paella - for me it’s the best.

MAUI BEACH

Almost next door to El Patio to its left as you face the beach - had a complete makeover since last year and is now a modern beach bar, very popular seems very busy every day, plenty of observant efficient staff keeps the food and drink coming. Nice two course lunch, again typical prices.

EL CID

Almost next door to El Patio on its left as you face the Playa - this bar fall between both for modern versus rustic but still has a café feel about it as it has the ubiquitous plastic ‘garden’ furniture. Haven’t eaten here yet just tried it for a drink and ambience - ok. Prices the usual.

LOS OLIVOS

On the Playa across from the beach, very nice place, huge choice of Tapas, at least 30 ranging from 1-3 euros, ok not the cheapest around for tapas but good and you won’t be disappointed. There have three or four set menus with something to suit everyone also there is a la carte. The usual phrase - typical prices for the playa - give this a try you will not be disappointed.

ORSOCA (Turre)

Top of Turre high street on the hill to the left as you leave the village. Small but good menu containing local dishes that need to be ordered at least a day in advance - bit of a nuisance if you have just walked in! We had raciones ‘portions’ which were huge. Asking of the Moorish Kebabs - hoe many do you get for 9e? the response was two large sticks - in reality you got NINE! So along with calamares, prawns and scrambled aggs with ham and potatoes we had too much! And took the prawns home in a doggy bag. Line dancing Tuesday and Thursday for the women folk and the chaps or they can have a pint for a mere 2 euros the cheapest I have found. Nice place - try it!

JAMON JAMON (Mojacar Pueblo)

On the edge of the Pueblo as you enter from Turre side - nice food, shame about the price, beer was a whopping 3.50 euros a pint - we will not return!

BAR EL PINAR (El Pinar)

A truly British place, the only people present were Brits - we went on Friday for the fish & chips and the quiz. Fish and chips ok, bit pricey and quite a small portion you can do better elsewhere. Beer was again only 2 euros per pint. Quiz - start time 08.30, actual 09.30! 60 questions - when did it finish? Just after midnight - way too long AND the barman was helping people with the answers - we know its only friendly but c’mon, play the game. To be fair they had a lot of walk ins that night and were very busy so coping was an issue, but on balance we will not return.

SOL Y PLAYA (Carbonaras)

Very nice restaurant along the beach front towards the desalination plant - very Spanish, very few Brits when we visited and it is a large restaurant and was packed in and out! Little English spoken and menus predominantly in Spanish (English available). Very good varied menu and reasonable prices for a beachfront location. We enjoyed all the food and would recommend a visit, plus it is a nice ride over the mountains from the Playa to get to it. WE will go again.

Titos Beach Bar & Restaurant

Restaurant:- Tito’s beach bar (chirinquito)

Venue:- Mojacar Playa (other end from Commercial centre)

WebCAM:-
http://bit.ly/titoswebcam (login - TITOS p/w TITOS)

Tito’s beach bar and restaurant has been around for many years, back to the 1960’s I believe when hippies ruled the beaches and everything ‘was peace man’. So why Tito’s - well it the nickname of the owner Jaime (when asking I forgot where I was and thought Hymie, odd for a Jewish person to have a beach bar - oh, ha! Ha! Hymie and Jaime are pronounced the same d’oh!) - well even more surprising he still owns the place ably assisted by Barbara - although I haven’t met the guy apparently he maintains his hippie presence. Another little factoid, I see he has Clive Sarstedt playing on a Sunday afternoon, well again back in England when drinking in my local in Slough I had a pint with his brother Peter - he of Frozen Orange Juice fame - way back in the late sixties I believe. The last sentence was put in for the pleasure of my friends back home, the comment is true, but we have a little in joke about meeting people!

The menu - not much truly Spanish here, a bit of Gazpacho, local fish that sort of thing but all in all a nice menu not too large not too small, something to please everybody.

Starters - ‘Ensalada de pollo curry’ that’s coronation chicken to you and me, with the very mild curry containing pineapple placed atop a salad - different but very satisfying. Only one starter had between the three of us.

Mains - ’Quiche de Puerro y Calabacines’ - leek and courgette quiche which came with a salad - large and homemade quiche - delicious and tasty salad. Next the ’Pinchos de cordero a la plancha con patata asada y ensalada’ - grilled lamb kebabs with jacket potato (the menu says roast but it is jacket - confusion over ’asada’ translation - both are done in the oven. The kebabs were delicious as was the spud and salad. I had that well known Spanish dish ’chile con pavo con arroz’ ’especialidad de la casa’ or Tito’s turkey chilli with rice, very mild containing turkey, red kidney beans, olives, cream and cheese - probably other things as well - it was lovely but it is mild.

Mango ice cream was hailed great, and the macadamia nut and maple syrup tart a joy to eat.

We had warm ciabatta rolls with hommous and aioli to start -ummm, nice!

Beer 3 euros a pint, fresh orange 2 euros all fairly standard along the playa - coffee was 1.30 and declared the best on the Playa!

Cost for three people including drinks 73.80 euros.

A final comment although this is a beach bar (chirinquito) and restaurant it is not what I call a REAL beach bar - it is too posh - hey, ho maybe its back to hippie roots and a wooden shack on the beach with just a cold beer and some local snack or fresh fish cooking on an open fire alongside.

Visit - it is worth it.

Wednesday 5 October 2011

Casa Joya - La Losilla Sunday 02nd October

Restaurant :- Casa Joya

Phone:- 699 00 50 24

Website:-
www.casa-joya.com

From Mojacar take the E15 and exit 553 to Velez Rubio, pass through Santa Maria de Nieva and stay on the A327, when you spot the 13km marker (do not bear left to Velez Rubio) you will spot the sign for ’Casa Joya Rural Gastronomia’ - turn right and let the adventure begin! Follow the yellow triangles for about 2km and you will arrive, enter through the door to the right and then take in the eclectic delights within - a reception area with a small bar, books a plenty, shoes, all manner of wall decoration and seating for a drink while perusing the exquisite menu. Walk past the bar and look down the restaurant where eclectic becomes, well super eclectic! The walls are adorned with African tribal art, genuine art, old copies of Greek paintings, modern art including Indalo, there are twenties risqué photos of tastefully undressed ladies and old photos, old menus from London - I could go on, there is so much to see you could spend an afternoon touring the room and forget the food - but don't! thats why you are here! The place is owned and run by the king of the kitchen James and his queen Mary who looks after front of house.

There is an outside patio area and swimming pool, words cannot easily describe this place - go on the website, go to the restaurant - booking essential, cash only!

The menu - there is a daily menu which is either 16.95 euros for two courses or 19.95 for three, all food is homemade, home cooked with the freshest of ingredients. See website for a sample menu.

We started with ….

Chicken livers and quail with a salad garnish, the livers were lovely, the quail done to perfection (easy to dry it out) and the salad dressed very well - I ate the lot (and I don’t like salad!). Another had the goats cheese tartlet with the well dressed salad - excellent, totally devoured. The third starter was Thai fishcakes with a ginger and coconut sauce and the salad garnish, very delicious.

The mains were … I had venison, cooked just beyond pink, not at all tough, it just melted in the mouth, it came with a wild boar casserole again beautifully cooked and very, very tasty, it all came with mashed and parmentier potatoes with a scattering of seasonal veggies - ate the lot! The other two guests had the pork, black pudding and apple on a bed of mash with the same accompaniments as the venison - very tasty, the black pudding was more like a stuffing and was well received.

Room for desserts - no! - but how can you not? I had the cheese board, sorry didn’t ask what the cheeses were but there were two hard cheeses (no manchego) possibly one was a cheddar, the others were a soft cheese either a strong brie or mild camembert ( the drinks starting to take effect!) and the fourth was I believe Bleu D’auvergne - served at the correct temperature, a joy to eat. Next a gorgeous dark chocolate mousse served with rich vanilla ice cream - more please! Lastly the lemon and lime flan with the ice cream - more please!

Testimony to the meal shows in that we only left one digestive biscuit between all three courses and that was me as I don’t think sweet digestives go with cheese - apparently everybody else does, so I must be wrong.

OK… enough of more please! We love this place, how they can serve such a fantastic menu for such a very reasonable price is beyond me - we will return often, in fact we are going again on Saturday before they escape on the first real holiday they have taken for seven years - hurry back, we are waiting.

A quick word on the wine (don’t normally mention wine) - The house red and white are both delicious and come in at 9,95 euros a bottle (or was it 10.95?). We had a bottle of Ribero for about 14.00 euros - not tried it? Go for it pure, Tempranillo from just south of Madrid to me its beats Rioja hands down. They also have some Malbec and Merlot. Unable to comment on the white - don’t touch the stuff! The café con leche was fine.

Total cost for three people including 3 courses, wine, aperitifs and coffee a staggering 89.00 euros - book now before the prices go up or they decide to retire!

Monday 3 October 2011

Casablanca Restaurante - Saturday September 30th

Casablanca Restaurante - Paseo Del Medterraneo (opp. Neptuno)
Phone - 950 472 474
Note - booking essential, open evenings only from 20.30.

Ah! memories of 'Humph' and Ingrid, 'play it again Sam', - did he really say that? I think not! the souks, the spicy and sweet tagines ... Whoa! stop right there! this is a REAL Spanish restaurant run by two very nice Madrilenos, Juan and Bea who set the place up in 1992and still run it today. The restaurant is tiny - just five tables the night we went 1x6, 1x4, 1x3 and 3x2 - the configuration changes according to the bookings - there is also a large outdoor terrace set under lots of trees for a cool drink or three. The interior is very Spanish with the walls covered in object d'art and the whole place has a refined relaxing atmosphere about it. Being Spanish it doesn't open until 20.30 and the night we were there they still came in after 22.00!
The food ... a small menu consisting of mainly Spanish dishes - pigs cheeks and trotters featured, desserts are all homemade.
I started with 'Ajo blanco con huevas' a cold garlic soup with orange caviar - simply divine - best garlic soup I have had in Spain! The other starters were a 'rissotto de Trigo' a wheat risotto with mushrooms and prawns, very unusual and very tasty. Lastly the 'berenjenas y tomate confida' - an aubergine and tomato confit served cold - very delicious.
For the main I had the 'Jarrete de Cordero' - roast lamb served in its own juices with mash and roasted mixed peppers - more a small side than a large veggie portion. The meat fell off the bone and the mash mopped up the superb 'gravy' well. The other two both had 'cochonillo confitado' - suckling pig with saute style potatoes and the mixed peppers. The pig skin was soft and not crispy like British crackling - a resounding success. Desserts were 'sorbete de fresa' homemade strawberry sorbet, delicious and fruity (brain freeze, Argh! eat slower!). The other two had 'crema Casablanca' a to die for dessert consisting of ground almonds and cream, sort of smooth yet slightly course - we want more! never had anything like it anywhere before.
The drinks - 2 x cerveza - Heinekin (Spanish?) coffees and a fine bottle of Miguel Merino 2007.
Total cost of the meal was 150.00 euros for three which included 30.00 euros for drinks. This is an excellent restaurant, it is not cheap, in fact the dearest we have been too - but it is worthy of a visit and we will return.
Make sure you visit and make sure you book!!!

Meson El Que Faltaba Thursday 29th September

Meson El Que Faltaba - Mojacar Playa - 950 478 846

This Spanish owned 'meson' (Inn) has been around a few years and the staff now speak English! The restaurant has a sister meson in Turre (Pobre) and the Argentinian Parilla (grill) a few doors away on the Playa - The cabana along further is another Parilla - different owners. There is the usual setup with tables set both inside and out with the outside tables capable of being well protected from the elements - tonight they were needed as the heavens dumped a huge amount of water on us during the evening.
The food - there are a couple of set menus as long as two people share the same menu - why? the food is nothing special so why can't just one person have it? Then there is the a la carte from which we chose and also a section with raciones (portions). The 'free' bread,  toppings and dips cost 50 cents per person this year, and the manchengo topping replaced with cheese slices (Spanish dairylea - Ugh!) and the Jamon replaced with mortadella (double Ugh!) but the dips were nice.
The starters - 2 x gazpacho, goods bits to add, but lose a point or two with cheapo mini, mini breadsticks - c'mon use real bread and make real croutons. The soup was actually very, very nice and would be had again. The other starter was calamari fritti, nicely fried with a light batter (almost tempura - maybe it was!) and not at all rubbery - a success.
The mains - Emperador (swordfish) - lovely, patatas fritas - superb, and grilled tomato and courgettes - altogether a nice dish. Then a shared fish platter containing all the usual suspects - sardines, prawns, calamari, boccarones, quid to name what I remember served with half a jacket potato each - microwaved! why oh why! The puds were all homemade, the breadpudding was nice but have had better, the flan again nice but nothing special.
Drinks - Cafe con leche 1e, tubo 1.50e, pinta 2.50e, wine 1e glass. total cost for three people 64 euros of which 11 euros was drink.
Value for money - yes, very fair for the Playa, we will return but will try the one in Turre next and then the Pariila.

Thursday 15 September 2011

Thai Square, Windsor Tuesday 13th September

Venue:-            Thai Square, Thames Street Windsor.

Telephone:-            01753 868900

Web:-              www.thaisquare.net

Thai Square is a small chain of Thai restaurants with eleven branches in London and six in the suburbs. The Windsor restaurant which we visited is situated opposite the castle and next to the Theatre Royal, and as it was a Tuesday we didn’t bother to book. Oh! That was a mistake! This is a 125 seat restaurant and it was full, but they managed to tuck us into a corner in the very large conservatory area. The restaurant is split over three sections a small section from where you enter next to the theatre and a similar section if you enter from the side street opposite the car park, both leading into the very large, very modern, very high glass ceiling conservatory dominated in the centre by a huge earthenware pot with bamboo sticking out that reaches the ceiling. The place was buzzing and full of atmosphere, there were couples, large party groups, works do’s and a family groups

Three guests, three courses, apperifs, wine and coffee - £111.50

The menu is very large with everything you could ask for from a Thai menu, starters of Thai fishcakes, corn fritters to name but two, soups, salads pork dishes, prawn dishes, trout, noodles, rice and lovely accompaniments  such as spinach with ginger and topped with garlic. Dishes range from mild through to very hot – the 3 chilli symbol.

Starters:-  We chose the mixed starters so we try a few different items – Chicken satay, excellent tasted as though the chicken was fried in peanut oil and then of course dipped into the satay sauce, simply wonderful. Spring rolls, money bags (pork in filo – I believe), spare ribs and corn fritters. Very nice.

Mains :- All the mains are reasonably priced with most around the £7.50 to £8.50 price. The Pai Gai (Jungle curry) was a 3 chilli dish and was declared one of the best eaten. The Gai Med Mamuang (chicken with cashew nuts) was very nice but was  too mild – it had no chillies so we can’t really complain.  I had the Moo Prik Khing (Pork in shrimp paste with long beans and chilli) a 2 chilli dish – excellent. Steamed rice (£1.50), fried rice, mixed vegetables and the spinach/ginger accompanied the meal. A worthy comment here, the dishes were plentiful and not covered with the usual inedible decorations that normally go with Thai dishes – probably these are the largest dishes that I have encountered in any Thai restaurant.

Dessert :- Full up! But in the interests of reporting we had plain coconut ice-cream, creamy and delicious, a mango and coconut dessert again very tasty and finally the sticky rice with mango – this is to die for, they only have  it a couple times a week so if they have it – try it, you will not be disappointed.

Drinks:- Chang beer was £3.90 a bottle – too damn expensive, but it does seem the norm these days. Orange juice £1.80 – cheaper than usual. Bottle of Nito Malbec at £22.50 way too expensive, it is a very nice Malbec but should be nearer £16.00 – its only £5.85 in the supermarkets and they must get it cheaper. Coffee is Illy and is very nice.

All in all a very nice restaurant, we will go again but next time we will book!

Monday 12 September 2011

Mezzaluna restaurant, Sunninghill - Saturday September 10th

Venue:-            Mezzaluna Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria

Telephone:-            01344 876200

Web:-              http://www.ristorantemezzaluna.com/

This restaurant was written up a couple of weeks back and so we will go straight onto the food with a brief interlude to mention the staff – this visit was at a weekend and therefore the restaurant was much busier than the previous early week visit and the atmosphere and ambience much enhanced. Three girls on this evening a cheeky young girl doing the drinks, who made ordering and serving the drinks very pleasurable, our ‘Spanish’ singing waitress who had no time to sing along tonight – Sinatra and ‘Dino’ playing in the background – and the main girl, all efficiency and friendliness rolled into one.

Three guests, three courses, aperifs, wine and coffee – cost unknown (I wasn’t paying!)

Starters:-

Deep fried Goats cheese with a homemade pesto, nice portion beautifully cooked and was declared delicious. Then a starter from the specials, baked aubergine with melted mozzarella, yet another success story. Finally my choice of mushrooms with garlic sauce topped with melted cheese – should come with a ‘hot’ warning, take care when eating – it was delicious. On the ‘hot’ thing c’mon it has been in an oven and has a bubbling sauce with melted cheese – this is not McDonalds, you don’t need to be told ‘warning this dish is hot’!

Mains :-

Tagliatelle Mezzaluna – sounds like one of the house pastas to me! Tomatoes, chicken, mushrooms, basil and garlic sauce. Plentiful dish full of flavour, couldn’t quite finish it – doggy bag? No dog so didn’t bother. I had the Veal Satimboca, I am rather partial to veal so this was a bit of an acid test – how would it stand up? Well I had three large pieces of veal, with sage and then parma ham on top with a sage gravy – best I have had in ages! Potatoes and veggies of the day accompanied it – roast potatoes, French beans, broccoli and some roasted veggies. The third meal was from the specials – lamb wrapped in pancetta (that’s bacon!) and stuffed with anchovies and tomatoes. You hate anchovies – well trust me when done like this and used as a stuffing you do not actually taste any anchovy but the combination was superb and received a mighty 10/10 – I never give ten, there is always room for improvement.

Dessert :-

All homemade from the trolley – a warm apple pie, profiteroles and a crème brulee – all devoured with gusto – even though we were a bit full.

This was all washed down with a couple of Peronis to start and an orange juice, a bottle of Barolo at a whopping (I thought) £35.00 – and I didn’t think the wine was up to much. The The usual coffees were had plus a couple of glasses of wine –house red, have something else! and house white wine – fine. As I always say this is a food review and not a wine review if ‘you’ like a wine it is good, if you don’t it is bad. For wine buffs try Italian wine called Biferno preferably the 2004  if you can get it, you won’t find it in the supermarkets though.

Sunday 4 September 2011

Ascot Oriental Saturday September 03rd

Venue:-            Ascot Oriental

Telephone:-            01344 621877

Website:-            www.ascotoriental.com

Situated on the London Road close to Virginia Water is the Ascot Oriental, formerly the Chukka public house now lovingly renovated it is a modern stylish building with a vibrant interior and a very attractive conservatory area. The restaurant has been a regular haunt of ours over several years and never fails to disappoint. The owner (and Master Chef) Konrad Liu oversees the proceedings in both the front of house and behind the scenes in the kitchen and has a very able and receptive team of waiters who look after you with the utmost of efficiency. The Ascot Oriental has set the standard both within Ascot and beyond as a beautiful appointed restaurant where people come to relax and enjoy the distinctive cuisine coupled with the impeccable service.

The food, well, we chose from the A La Carte – mixed Hors D’Ouvres which consisted of Spare ribs, chicken satay (with a nice unusual spicy taste), vegetarian spring rolls, prawn sesame toast, Shanghaise dumplings (I think! – they were some sort of dumpling) and crispy seaweed and at £9.50 per couple good value. Everything was eaten all the food complemented and roll on the next course.

We normally at this point have the crispy duck, but today for a change we all had crispy fragrant lamb wrapped in iceberg lettuce leaves with plum sauce – a do it yourself  course like the duck and pancakes. I tried one wrap with the plum sauce(jam) and one without and I preferred the one with, my partner the one without – but everybody agree it was a good choice.

The mains. Most mains come in from around £8.95 - £16.50) We had Braised cod with asparagus and spicy garlic, chicken breast in honey and lemon sauce, sautéed chicken with chilli and blackbean, fillet of beef with ginger in oyster sauce on a bed of broccoli, fillet of beef on its own and at least one other dish which I have forgotten. To complement the above we had some sautéed seasonal vegetables, Nasi Goreng, steamed rice and egg fried rice with spring onion.  All was eaten and hailed a great meal, the honey lemon chicken being declared ‘the best I have eaten’ – not a favourite for me though, has that slight twang of sweet and sour which I do not like  - it’s a personal thing not a criticism of the dish. The meal was downed with copious amounts of both red and white wine (around £30.00 a bottle) plus a sprinkling of water – somebody always has to drive. All finally washed down with either China or oolong tea.

What about the apple and banana fritters?  I hear you ask, well we were too full but we have had them before, so go on if you have the room spoil yourself and have the ice cream that goes with them too.

An excellent meal as always, they do a fixed price menu which works out at £27.50 or £28.50 a head plus another £4.50 a head  for the duck course – if you are not sure what to order try one of these meals. Specials are also created for Christmas, Chinese New Year  and Ascot week. Give it a try you won’t be disappointed.

The Bull Inn at Aborfield Cross Friday 02nd September

Venue:-            The Bull Inn @ Aborfield Cross

Telephone:-            01189 762244

Website:-            www.thebullinnarborfield.co.uk


This restaurant/pub can be found right on the roundabout at Aborfield Cross where the A327 the B3030 the B3348 and the A327 all meet – please be careful if you are coming in from Wokingham via Molly Millar Lane as you pass another ‘Bull Inn’  - just keep going until you reach Aborfield. I am sure there in nowt wrong with the ‘other’ Bull but this review is not about them!

The Bull has a nice large car park and a large outdoor seating area, but we headed inside to be greeted at the door and shown to our table. Now I have said this before – is it a pub with a restaurant or a restaurant that serves beer or even a pub pretending to be a restaurant, well I feel this is predominantly a restaurant that has a bar. The interior is clean and bright with a mix of seating options around a central bar area – the place was crowded when we went and booking is essential for a weekend, probably during the week as well.

We started with a couple of drinks from the bar, guinness , white wine, orange juice and a pint of local real ale for me – the guest ale – at £3.60 a pint! A bit steep that. The restaurant caters well for the caveman amongst us as well as vegetarian and Coeliac choices.

On to the food. Starters ranged from about £4.50 to £8.95) Starters consisted of  a warm chicken Caesar salad (£4.95), Whitebait (£4.95), smoked Salmon (£6.50) and Tricolore salad (£5.50) – portions good for starters, not too much and not too little all were given the thumbs up.

Main courses ranged from around £8.50 to £18.95. For mains we has the lamb shank(£13.95), served with seasonal veg and sauteed potatoes, Steak and Ale pie (£11.50) served with mash and veg, seabass (£11.95) again with sautéed and veggies and finally Scampi with sauteed and side salad. All meals were declared excellent, the lamb shank was just too large to be finished, the seabass cooked to perfection with a lovely crispy skin and succulent flesh beneath. The veggies were plentiful and locally sourced as in fact are most menu items – bet my scampi wasn’t local though. The sautéed potatoes were lovely and all meals eaten.  All was washed down with a bottle of Malbec at £14.80 – reasonable price for a drinkable wine.

Little bit of room left to try the puds … Chocolate profiteroles with chantilly cream – two large open choux buns crammed full of cream with chocolate on the top, I believe ‘wow!’ was the expletive used before clearing the plate. I settled for ice cream (coconut) and sorbet (mango) as a palate cleanser really. Normal filter coffee was had plus a pot of tea and I had a couple of double espressos and at £2.00 a go I thought the price reasonable and the coffee quite dark and intense, my personal taste is for a little stronger. The coffee was bottomless again at £2.00 a throw was good value.

Total cost of meal with a tip was £124.00 for four people. This is an excellent restaurant/pub with very attentive friendly staff, the meal was unhurried yet timely and we all thoroughly  enjoyed out visit – we will return.

The Duke of Edinburgh Woodside Ascot - thursday 01st September

Venue:-            The Duke of Edinburgh

Telephone:-            01344 882736

Website:-            www.thedukeofedinburghpub.org.uk

Driving from Ascot towards Windsor pass the racecourse on your right hand side and then cross the two mini roundabouts and then a few hundred yards along the road turn left into Woodside Road, travel along for about 100 yards and the Duke is on the right. The ‘pub/restaurant’ is just that, as you enter through the main door you come to the bar area first – which is a bar! May sound logical but many places are more restaurant than bar! Turn to the right and you enter the restaurant. All around the walls are painted famous quotes and the bar had what looked like a crowd of locals in and the restaurant was also doing a brisk trade. The restaurant walls also had blackboards announcing various other dishes to complement those on the main menu and also the day we went they had a curry night.

The food … I started with potted crab with warm toast and small side salad – after breaking through the delicate butter crust the crab was absolutely delicious, the toast was plentiful and the whole dish superb. The other starter was avocado prawns which was also greeted with absolutely delicious. Mains consisted of Sea Bass – two fillets nicely cooked with lovely crispy skin and delicate white fish., salmon with hollandaise again no complaints, next a very large gammon served with pineapple and peaches – very nice and finally a broad bean and asparagus risotto which unfortunately came topped with parmesan shaving – no mention of these on the menu and my partner hates parmesan! The waitress offered to take it away and remove the shaving but we took them off and I ate them! – I love parmie!

Desserts were chocolate fudge cake with ice cream and an apple tart with ice cream – both well received.

Drinkies … they have a small selection or real ale – Arkells, the 3B’s was excellent, also had a bottle of Chilean Merlot to wash dinner down. Coffee followed – thought my espresso slightly strange – very frothy top, not very intense, more akin to strong black coffee with a head.

Overall the meal was very well received, all diners saying that we would revisit and the price was ok, although I haven’t quoted each dish by price they are fair around the area – the total for the four of us came to £130.00 including the tip we left.

Wednesday 31 August 2011

Pennyhill Park Luxurious Country House Hotel - Sunday 28th August

Venue:-            Penny Hill Park Hotel & Spa

Telephone:-            01276 486150 (restaurant number)

Website:-            www.pennyhillpark.co.uk

Situated along the A30 between Bagshot and Camberley you see the entrance to Pennyhill Park, once through the entrance advertising its five star status you enter 123 acres of rolling Surrey parkland within which lies a luxurious country house hotel. You may choose to park your car in the car park and walk to the hotel entrance or simply drive up to the front door and toss the keys to the valet to park it for you- having opted to drive the Skoda today and not the Ferrari I opted for self park. The hotel is very worthy of its five star status, I am having trouble finding even the tiniest fault.

We had come for Sunday buffet lunch (£37.00) per head plus drinks – a bottle of house wine comes in at around £16.00 a bottle of beer at £4.60 plus, most wines seem to me about £30.00 plus and champagne £50.00 plus. Now this probably seems expensive and yes it is, but you have luxury surroundings, immaculate service, a jazz trio (The Jubilee trio) and a buffet to die for.

The buffet consists of a traditional carvery (beef, lamb and pork loin today), sea bass and a pasta dish all served with all the trimmings and local produce. The starter range is enormous with lots of seasonal seafood – oysters, giant prawns, roll mops etc. cold meats and various salad accompaniments. The desserts consisted of classic hot fare – bread and butter pudding or apple and cinnamon crumble or a selection of exquisite concoctions such as exotic choux buns.
There is a more detailed menu on the website, plus details of its other restaurant ‘The Latymer’ which we haven’t tried.

We all had a mixture of starters, probably had something of everything between us – the plates were cleared. For the mains we had either lamb or pork, as much as you wanted (you can always go back for seconds or thirds), the very friendly carver will give you slices from where you request thereby catering for the lovers of well done and those that prefer pink – plates cleared again! We tried lots of the desserts  -more empty plates. All washed down with some water and wine and followed with rather delicious coffee – Oh! Something to complain about, the coffee came with homemade marshmallows – we don’t like marshmallows, bring back the petit fours I say.

I would rate this overall as an ultimate five star experience of both luxury and cuisine and you should try it, especially good for that little special occasion surprise lunch. There is a 10% service charge added to all bills which I am told is divided between all the staff involved.