Beer Battered Fish And Chips Beer Battered Fish And Chips
The Library Bar and Grill

The Library Bar and Grill

4a Guildhall Hill Norwich, Norfolk NR2 1JH, United Kingdom

Steak • Mexican • British • Vegetarian


"At six and three quarters, being the oldest person in the room affords a certain air of esteem. One can look down on one’s peers with lofty arrogance informed by world-weary experience. *Tch* and *tut*, my little rugrat friends, what little you know of the world! Kathryn White asked me to sit next to her in assembly yesterday, and I said, like, no way lady! Dude, I’m a P-L-A-Y-A, and ain’t no crazy ho gonna cramp my style – HELL NO!At thirty-three (minus one day), the same does not hold true. First of all, sitting next to Kathryn White does *not* mean I’m going to marry her. Second, propping up the bar at the Mustard Lounge, I fear I may well be old enough to have fathered some of the punters. Third, it’s way past my bedtime.Come the morning, I am not feeling sprightly. By the grace of God, however, I’m not hungover, as such, and can at least mooch into town without too much ado.I’ve been meaning to eat at The Library for a while, but have never managed to arrive in time for lunch. Today, however, I can sit there, warm and fuzzy with smugness, if a little woozy from sleep deprivation and the really high ceiling.The fish options look good, but for reasons self-evident to anyone but vegetarians and teetotallers, the curative properties of the lah-di-dah fry-up seem more appropriate. We both order the hand-cut chips, thick-cut bacon and fried egg: it is triumphant, standing us in good stead for another night of acting half our age.The combination of book-lined shelves and purple décor make the place an ideal location for nerdy goths. Nerdy nerds, however, will despair at the filing of said books, which have been lined up with wanton disregard for any established classification system, happily marrying Bruce Lee with crochet and motor racing with Middlemarch.Such irregularity was echoed in the friendly, if erratic service, and the disappointing dessert. The espresso mousse was relatively feeble, with texture like bread in a swimming pool and a flavour more in line with Revels than tiramisu; frankly, I was more excited by my subsequent trip to the toilet.This not to damn the dish unfairly, however, as The Library’s exquisite toilets are perfect for restroom aficionados, and are surely shortlisted among the finest in Norwich."

Princess Victoria

Princess Victoria

217 Uxbridge Road Shepherds Bush London, W12 9DH, United Kingdom

Pubs • Steak • Pizza • British


"We visited the Princess Victoria today for the first time as recommended by friends. We live locally but had never been. When we walked in we thought it seemed lovely and not as ‘old man pubby’ as we had thought from the outside. We sat down and it took about half an hour before anybody came to us and we needed to ask them to take our order. We ordered 2 beef and 2 pork roasts and some meals for the kids. The kids meal said it was £5 on the menu we were given but on the bill it was £8. We then questioned it and they brought another menu with the £8 amount written on it. We must’ve been given an old menu but they denied it and refused to change the price. I’ve just looked on the menu on the website and it says £5! We were also charged for extra Yorkshire puddings and gravy even though we didn’t order them. Turns out they don’t come with the pork but we weren’t told that and never ordered them (we just said we wanted 2x beef and 2x pork! . The roast came out and while they looked great, there was a really burnt taste throughout, possibly from the gravy because it was on every mouthful. We found the overall service to be terrible. Only 2 drinks that were ordered arrived and they only drank those two because nobody came to ask if we wanted more. We questioned the Yorkshire pudding charge and the fact that the child’s meal was priced differently and they reluctantly removed the Yorkshire puddings but the manager fought it and wasn’t polite. She also insulted my husband for having nail polish on (a left over from Halloween… but rude of her none the less Overall a very disappointing experience.The only polite member of staff was a girl who had just started there as she said it was her first day. We don’t go out a lot so feeling like this was a total wasted special treat. Definitely wouldn’t recommend."

Balbirnie Bistro

Balbirnie Bistro

Balbirnie Park, Fife, United Kingdom

Cafés • Steak • Pasta • Seafood


"We decided to treat ourselves to a meal for our wedding anniversary's and wish we hadn’t. When we arrived we were told all orders had to be made through the app, so I downloaded the app. I ordered drinks and shortly after a waiter...arrived with drinks. I checked the confirmation email and checked that I had ordered another drink and, after asking for it, it eventually arrived. We had booked the Bistro Al Fresco which looks lovely in the little private gazebos. Again, everything had to be ordered on the app. Two of the other diners also downloaded the app and we passed the phones around the five of us to choose from the menu. A bit impersonal and obviously we couldn’t order drinks while making our choices. We ordered one soup and had tiny bowls delivered, we had to ask for glasses for the water, the music system kept turning off and on and changing volume and song, the ‘bread basket for was slices of plain white bread with some oil and vinegar, the ‘nuts and olives’ were a tiny bowl of olives and a bowl of salted peanuts, hardly award-winning fodder. When I politely asked the waitress what was happening with the music she returned with a ‘manager’ who was condescending, confrontational, patronising and frankly downright rude. She said that the music system was new and that, no sorry it can’t be turned off’ and that the poor bread selection was ‘reflected in the price’... for four small slices of white bread!? When I pay for two starters and five main courses I expect better. Fortunately the main courses were okay, not great but okay. We certainly won’t be recommending it to friends or family, or returning when we can get nicer food and far better service elsewhere."