Game Terrine
County Hotel, Samphire Restaurant

County Hotel, Samphire Restaurant

The County Hotel Rainsford Road Chelmsford, Essex CM1 2PZ, CM1 2QD, United Kingdom

Beer • Wine • Coffee • British


"My wife and I have been to the County Kitchen a few times for their Sunday Carvery. So why, you may ask have I only given the County Kitchen 3 stars and entitled my review as lacks consistency? Well the title does say it all, it isn 't that the food and service and surroundings are bad its just that as a complete package it...........lacks consistency. Perhaps I should explain rather than repeating myself Our table was crammed in with others in the small conservatory/veranda area. It felt cramped as we were against a pillar and so close to at least 6 other diners that it felt uncomfortable and unwelcoming, especially as the rest of the restaurant was empty. Moving on to our food. We opted for starters, followed by the carvery. My wife 's starter crab haddock fishcake, with chive hollandaise was presented nicely and according to her very nice but lacked flavour . Mine was pork belly terrine and chutney my comments mirror those of my wife 's. Lacked seasoning and flavour, but looked nice. I echo Greg Wallace 's thoughts on Masterchef the other day..... ...would rather have something that tastes good rather than a dish that just looks pretty... Now the carvery you have a choice of at 3 roast meats plus vegetables and if you feeling really hungry there isn 't a limit to the number of times you can go back. But for most appetites 1 visit is enough. Being a little greedy I had a couple of slices of port with yummily crisp crackling) and some beef. The carver described the beef as medium rare my preference) but it was more like medium to well done so it was a bit tough and chewy shame as it looked a fantastic joint of beef). That finally put an end to our meal, we paid our bill £59.95 incl bottle of wine, and starters) and left. I have to say that this hasn 't been our experience on other occasions, so perhaps its was just an off day. Will we go back? Probably, but we won 't be rushing back. Its not a bad place, it just.....lacks consistency!"

The Holy Birds

The Holy Birds

94 Middlesex Street London, E1 7EZ, United Kingdom

Grill • British • Gourmet • Barbecue


"Came here for a Punk night as a colleague of mine is the lead singer of a band called Idle Bones. I asked my partner if she 'd like to come and she agreed. We had a pre-drink to prepare and made our way there. We had just made it in time to see a band called Credentials, They wore balaclavas and jumped around like madmen. I very much enjoyed them especially a song they played called Mustard . After their moshy set we all headed downstairs for a cigarette and a beer. Everyone was in high spirits and the credential team all took off their balaclavas and tried to cool down from their fiery set. Next up was the headliners.. Idle Bones! I needed a good spot and made it back a bit later so was at the back but managed to jump on a chair to get a good view. They played a great set with some of my favourites being Eleven and Nothing important happened today . Brett Zero threw some T-shirts out mid-set but I missed out on those. They had a good long set and jumped into the mosh pit at the end. After the set, I went down for a cigarette and watched all the punks talking about previous gigs and how good it had been this evening. I chatted with some people and waited for Brett to come down. One of my colleagues told me the toilets were the worst he 's ever been to so I journeyed their myself and they weren 't too bad I think he just wasn 't used to pub toilets. The Idles Bones team came down and got a picture with the other bands that played. All in all, good night will be back for some more punky gigs."

The County

The County

The County Hotel, NE46 1PS, Northumberland, United Kingdom

Cafés • Steak • Pasta • Bar-lounge


"My wife and I have been to the County Kitchen a few times for their Sunday Carvery. So why, you may ask have I only given the County Kitchen 3 stars and entitled my review as lacks consistency? Well the title does say it all, it isn 't that the food and service and surroundings are bad its just that as a complete package it...........lacks consistency. Perhaps I should explain rather than repeating myself Our table was crammed in with others in the small conservatory/veranda area. It felt cramped as we were against a pillar and so close to at least 6 other diners that it felt uncomfortable and unwelcoming, especially as the rest of the restaurant was empty. Moving on to our food. We opted for starters, followed by the carvery. My wife 's starter crab haddock fishcake, with chive hollandaise was presented nicely and according to her very nice but lacked flavour . Mine was pork belly terrine and chutney my comments mirror those of my wife 's. Lacked seasoning and flavour, but looked nice. I echo Greg Wallace 's thoughts on Masterchef the other day..... ...would rather have something that tastes good rather than a dish that just looks pretty... Now the carvery you have a choice of at 3 roast meats plus vegetables and if you feeling really hungry there isn 't a limit to the number of times you can go back. But for most appetites 1 visit is enough. Being a little greedy I had a couple of slices of port with yummily crisp crackling) and some beef. The carver described the beef as medium rare my preference) but it was more like medium to well done so it was a bit tough and chewy shame as it looked a fantastic joint of beef). That finally put an end to our meal, we paid our bill £59.95 incl bottle of wine, and starters) and left. I have to say that this hasn 't been our experience on other occasions, so perhaps its was just an off day. Will we go back? Probably, but we won 't be rushing back. Its not a bad place, it just.....lacks consistency!"

George V

George V

Ashford Castle Cong, Co. Mayo F31 CA48, F31 XD56, Congleton, United Kingdom

Irish • Seafood • Italian • European


"TL/DR: bland, ‘old’ food. interesting history. sits on magnificent castle grounds. not worth the price. the service team adheres to old ideas and traditions that are incompatible with the needs of modern culinary experience. let me admit a few things: 1) I am an american and because of our history, I have developed a more sensitive radar to recognize when my white privileg and colonialism are put on a sockel. 2) I don't know much about the history there, why certain traditions were received at george w, and I don't pretend I know how the personal feels there. I bought a book about the history of irlands to understand the complicated relationship between the earth and the clone better. 3) I understand it, it's a restaurant review, not a story book. but if they call a place after a former king, of course we come here. the fast and dirty becuase I still have minimal characters: the plots are beautiful the restaurant was built for george w and the man feels and tastes like it consciously old preparation techniques and ideas to keep hecht the eating was not good. it was just not. it's not the fault of the service team, but someone who decides to have a boring, outdated menu catering to old, rich white people (small changes could have made the meal interesting and as it belongs in 2022) the only variety was present under the service team. it's a diner. several people served us on a separate way: the person who sat us took our order (the one other person confused), someone else spoke to us about wein and could not answer other questions, someone else served it, and none of them was our main server I let this experience disappointed and confused. How much of my experience is white fault against real restaurant problems? Should a restaurant rooted in royal history consider its representation of colonialism in 2022 a real restaurant problem? I really think."

Yuu Kitchen

Yuu Kitchen

31 33 Heddon Street, City of London,Westminster, United Kingdom

Fish • Steak • Juice • Drinks


"On Friday night myself and the chap took a wander over to Heddon Street, just off Regent Street, to experience the ICEBAR. For the chap this was his first time in London and I hadn’t been in a good three years so the design was totally new. I’d been mega excited about this all day as I knew we’d be having a decent night ahead! On arrival we joined the queue where we were given out tickets and second drink passes. The staff were **** awesome, so very polite and it really felt like they enjoyed their jobs which I feel can be quite rare in bars and venues now days! They were very hospitable, whisking the chaps backpack away and donning us in those super stylish capes. The theme of the ICEBAR is frozen food and I love it!! The bar was a frozen goods truck and around the room was a frozen pineapple you were able to have your photo taken in plus a rather delicious looking cupcake! We both tried different cocktails; I opted for the Tropical Sensation that was made up from Absolut Blue Vodka, Blueberry Liqueur, Tropical Fruit Juice, Lemon Juice, and Strawberry Syrup. It taste so summery so it was certainly an odd feeling with being so cold whilst drinking it! The chap went for the Blue Blazer that was made up from Four Roses Bourbon, Blue Curacao Liqueur, Ginger Ale, and Lemon Juice, and he loved it! We had the same cocktails second time around which was a little naughty as we should of tried the others but these were too good to not have again! Once our 40 minute session had come to an end we lined up to get rid of those capes; I’m not gonna lie I’d so own my own one for winter months! We had such a great experience inside the ICEBAR that we decided to continue our night in the warm bar. The cocktail menu is pretty damn impressive and I had to try the Purple Rain concoction. It was made up of Absolut Kurant vodka, Triple sec liqueur, Crème de Mure liqueur, blackberry puree, and lime juice. The chap isn’t a huge fan of cocktails so he went for a Jamieson Whisky and Diet Coke. Once again, the staff were great. I have to say our experience was so enjoyable I can certainly see us going back once they change the ice again, which brings me on to some awesome facts about the ICEBAR… Everything inside the ICEBAR is made out of crystal clear ice harvested especially from the frozen Torne River in Jukkasjärvi, Northern Sweden. This is due to how clear the water is, and once you’ve seen how amazing the ice is inside the ICEBAR you’ll totally understand why they bring it over all that way! They bring specialist sculptors over for 5 days to work on the designs you see, and this happens once a year. Every three months they pop back over again to renew the tables and chairs as they get a fair bit of wear and tear! Thank you so much to the team for having us and for making us feel so welcome!"