Garlic Cheese Bread
Rockers Steakhouse

Rockers Steakhouse

52 Mill Road, Cambridge, CB12AS, CB1 7GX, United Kingdom

Steak • Seafood • Chicken • Steakhouse


"This was my first ever time going to Rockers steakhouse and such a shame that I had really bad experience with them and I've been put off for going there again. I went there for a company Christmas dinner and there were about 20 of us, we booked the table in advance and as it was a Christmas dinner it was requested that we have to pre order our food from the Christmas menu, which we did. When we arrived, the table wasn't fully prepared, as they allowed other customers sit where we were going to be, before we arrived, so some of us had to wait standing, whilst other customers were finishing eating, and to me it seemed that they weren't told that their table was going to be used for a big group, as they were taking their time to finish their meal (not really their fault, if they were unaware . Once we all sat down, took some time for staff to clean the tables and we had to ask them to do this. For those who asked the the three course meal, their starts came quick, but sadly after that, the mains took 2hrs to come out regardless of who ordered the 3 or 2 course meal. I could see that other tables were getting their food before us, and these customers arrived after us, not to mention again that our food was pre ordered. At this point, a lot of us were tired as we had a long day at work, some of us also relied on public transport to go home and in addition it was a long journey home for some of us (2hr bus journey home! and we were getting annoyed that our food was taking too long to come out; so a lot of us ate the main when it arrived and cancelled our dessert. When it came to cancelling our dessert, the supervisor of the restaurant was getting annoyed and being rude that so many of us were cancelling dessert and only wanted to pay for the main. Some of us managed to pay only for the main, but sadly there were others that were forced to pay as well for the dessert and had to wait for the dessert to be ready just to take it home, and when they were ready, no one told us that these were ready and we had to find out from the kitchen, this meant that some of us had to wait even more because we didn't know that the desserts were ready to be taken away. For those who decided to stay and eat their dessert, once again we had to wait a long time for the desserts to come out. During the time we all finished our mains and got our desserts, the tables didn't get cleared and I waited a long time for this to happen as I wanted to let them know that I wished to take the remaining of my food home. This meant, that I ate my dessert next to my unfinished main. When I went to pay, I refused to pay the full amount as I felt that the restaurant ruined our company Christmas meal and when I explained this to the supervisor, she once again was rude and didn't accept what I wanted to pay, and only offered to remove the service charge, but I insisted and fortunately the main manager came and accepted what I wanted to pay. I'm so disappointed in how our Christmas meal went as my colleague put so much effort in organising this and she even created a spreadsheet stating who ordered what and who had allergies and shared this spreadsheet with the restaurant to make easier for them, but some how they still messed up; one of my colleagues who was gluten intolerant got a normal burger instead of a gluten free burger, the salads came after the the burgers (and don't know why it took so long for a couple of salads to come out , and not to mention that one of them was a halloumi salad, where they forgot to add the halloumi which had to be requested to be added in. I understand that working in a restaurant can be stressful and that the people there work long hours (like we do and that that night was really busy, but I feel that there was no excuse for them to mess up like they did as they knew in advance how many of us were going to be, what time we were going there and the date, plus they also knew what we ordered. I feel that they were totally unprepared and unorganised to receive us, as I feel that knowing the information they had and knowing how big our group was, we should have been priority that night. In addition to all of this, not only l felt like the food was nothing special, some of us also got sick later on that night, and I think it's because the food wasn't properly cooked (the burger I had was slightly pinkish in the inside, but as my burger wasn't the only one like that, we all thought that the burger was meant to be like that . My conclusion is that the Rocker's steakhouse is unable to deal with big group bookings and it's best to avoid going there if you are a big group."

Derby Arms Rainford

Derby Arms Rainford

47 Church Road, St. Helens, United Kingdom, WA11 8EZ

Cafés • Steak • Salads • Chicken


"I have been going to The Derby Arms for years on and off since I was,18. The last time I sat in the room primarily used for diners I was with my family so it was a little emotional for me. The decor has changed but not the bricks and mortar. I don 't consider myself to be 'local ' anymore hence I could detect that the busy bar had a local edge to it. Not unfriendly, but the feeling that everyone knows everyone else. This is not necessarily a bad thing and everyone is kind and thoughtful which reflects the community itself. Over the years the food in the pub has gone from mediocre to outstanding depending on the chef in the kitchen. I know my mother would comment critically sometimes. However, I am delighted to report the that on this visit the service was brilliant and the food really superb. Front of house was really kind getting me a table as the resteraunt was heavily booked...and I can see why. Evening food is served from 5pm onwards and lunch is also available. The dining area is spotless and really comfortable with attentive staff who will bring drinks to your table. It 's a very homely atmosphere. I wasn 't visiting for a special occasion, I just popped in on my own but I was made to feel special. The food was just great, my 8oz sirloin spot on in terms of taste and how it was cooked. Really lovely. Now this is not a fair comparison, but stay with me. I had the misfortune to be reminded during to a chicken based fast food resteraunt in St. Helens how incredibly expensive it can be to 'eat out ' and having to endure terrible food served with an air of disdane in an atmosphere of artificial, disposable detachment. Given the above experience, when I got the final bill from the Derby Arms which included two delightful drinks and two outstanding courses, wonderful atmosphere, caring service and other customers who said hello...only a real fool would even consider visiting the former place to eat. I guess, I am using this comparison to say, that at a time when we are having to make cuts and difficult choices, there are still places you can really enjoy, that serve peerless food and offer great value for money. I am delighted The Derby Arms still has its sparkle, its class and its soul. Thank you for bringing back happy memories and making a new one. Best wishes, Paul."

The Churchmouse

The Churchmouse

Front Street, Chester Moor, Chester-le-Street DH2 3RJ, UK, County Durham, United Kingdom

Steak • Pizza • Pub Kitchen • Establishment


"I would have given 5* for the pub, as it lovely. But the service we received was poor. Stayed for 1 night in the travel lodge next door . Decided to have dinner early at 5pm. The pub wasn’t busy when we were seated, shown to a table opposite the fire, lovely and cosy. Didn’t wait too long for a waiter to come with menus. We were asked if anyone has an allergies, I told waiter I do, he presented me with a tablet and said don’t bother reading it that’s their disclaimer! … umm I think I need to read what’s in what I’m planning to eat?! So it doesn’t make me ill! This was the start of utter chaos… I ordered the chicken schnitzel, I just wanted it breaded with no sauce or anything else it came with, apart from the chips. My partner ordered the signature burger he ordered only 1). Our grandson ordered the gammon. Mains arrived, mine came out 1st, plain chicken and a few chips with a couple of leaves of lettuce! Not what I asked for. I told waiter I wanted it breaded. The waiter did apologise, took the plate back to kitchen. My partners food arrived. Two signature burgers! Told waiter we didn’t order two burgers. I did get what I asked for, about 10 minutes later, who knows if the cook just added breadcrumbs to my original chicken that was brought to the table? As it was bland, hardly any flavour. A few chips and same leaves of lettuce. Partner and grandson did enjoy their meals though. We asked for the bill. Charged for two signature burgers! This was rectified after explaining again to a different waiter, only had 1.. The service was poor, staff need to be trained better. We have been to a few vintage inns and the service has been fantastic just a shame this one wasn’t the same!"

Nuova Italia

Nuova Italia

18 Church Street, South Somerset, United Kingdom, BA22 8LJ

Pizza • Pasta • Steak • Italian


"The short-spell of warmer and sunnier weather continued; so we decided to take a potential 90 minute drive-out to visit the Somerset Levels. Our main destination was a National Trust property near Ilminster. It was however 11:30 when we got-underway, so we decided to have lunch first; before it became too late. As a result we rerouted to the town of Ilchester, to visit this highly recommended Italian ristorante. Ilchester itself is small and quiet, with a pocket-sized centre featuring three pubs; one is also a hotel, and there is a further hotel across the bridge over the River Yeo. Shops seem very scarce, but there is a convenience store near to the filling-station, otherwise it’s a shopping-trip to nearby Yeovil. The town is known for it’s classic cheese bearing the town’s name. Ilchester Cheese is a type of Cheddar (the town of Ilchester is, like the town of Cheddar, in Somerset). We called-ahead to ensure we had a table reservation, but that turned out to be unnecessary; because the restaurant was very quiet. During our visit, there was only one other couple dining. When we arrived we parked in a nearby (free) public carpark, not realising that the restaurant had it’s own carpark. The restaurant is moderately large inside with about 25-30 tables in a long, slender, but rather dark, dining area (maybe the lights were switched-off). As it was sunny we decided we would sit outside in the covered terrasse area, located at the side of the restaurant. Being well-sheltered here, we were quite warm from the sun shining through the clear corrugated roofing. The wooden side-walls facing the adjacent private carpark, and also the main through-road (the B3151), were unglazed. There was a tolerable degree of traffic noise. There were a lot of plants in the terrasse, including some climbing plants; once in full leaf and bloom, they will likely to become very attractive. Some of the plants however were a bit untidy, needing some deadwooding. We studied the menu and then the senior waitress told us about the specials; which totally changed our dining plans; there were Scallops available! For both of us the opportunity to eat King Scallops is a no-brainer. I also chose my main from the specials; being the ‘Filet Steak’, with the extra option of a mushroom and cream sauce. My Partner chose the ‘Penne Pollo’ main (chicken and pasta). We took drinks: my Partner choosing a white coffee, whereas I ordered an Elderflower Cordial. The coffee was good, and the cordial (my favoured ‘Bottle Green’ brand) was very refreshing served on crushed ice. The King Scallops (Capesante): were served with sea salt (or maybe rock salt) and freshly ground black pepper, and panfried in butter. The generous portion of six scallops each were browned and absolutely perfectly cooked. They were the very epitome of why we love eating these delicate molluscs. The beards (the roe) were on; they are part of the plate and can be eaten once cooked; having a slightly firmer texture than the scallop muscle. Beards are full of nutrients and minerals, and have a slightly richer flavour than the scallop muscle. Our scallops today did have a slightly gritty texture, but this was not due to insufficient cleaning; it was just the salt (however it initially felt wrong). The Filet Steak with Mushroom and Cream Sauce, and fries: I ordered the steak medium rare and when it arrived it was most certainly perfectly cooked. The good-sized thick fillet was pink and juicy; having a superb flavour and a firm texture. The perfect creamy mushroom sauce was so obviously homemade and delicious. The generous serving of fries were not overcooked and were unsalted. This suits me, as I believe salting can kill flavours rather than enhancing them. The fries were perfect and there were plenty in the serving. Penne Pollo: Seasoned chicken breast, mushroom and fresh penne in a creamy mushroom and white wine sauce: the plate looked good and the generous serving of pasta was perfectly cooked, with just sufficient sauce to coat the pasta. Sadly the chicken was not very good, it had a slightly rubbery texture and reminded my Partner of cheap processed chicken. I had tried a piece of the chicken from my Partner’s plate and I agreed that it was not good; it was bland and definitely had an odd texture. I do regret having to mention this, but in my (circa 900) reviews here on TA I always “tell it the way it was”. My Partner queried the source of the chicken. I think our (senior) waitress was a little upset, denying that the chicken was anything other than fresh. Indeed the waitress returned a minute or so later with a prepared raw chicken breast to prove that the chicken used was anything other than a fresh ingredient. We accepted this. Later, following some research, I now wonder if the chicken was affected by “woody breast”. There is a lot of information on the web about this problem. It could be that the restaurant’s supplier is providing intensively-farmed chicken (such farming methods are a common cause of woody breast). We were driving, so a glass of wine with the meal was inappropriate. We were also quite full from our generous meals, so desserts were not required. We were pleased with the service and the ambience here, and we hope to visit again."