Hot Chocolate
The Anchor Aspley Guise

The Anchor Aspley Guise

United Kingdom, MK17 8DF, Milton Keynes

Wine • Steak • Cheese • Chicken


"Don 't bother. This restaurant is part of the Unique Hospitality family/group. We referred here by the staff of another of the family: The Three Locks. The Three Locks has superb food, fantastic service and staff, and we found ourselves revisiting within the same week. Anchor Inn, on the other hand, is severely disappointed. It 's billed as the high end restaurant in the family, but it 's not at all what it believes itself to be. What they did right: We were greeted by a friendly host and immediately seated. The decor is nice, clean... and it all went desperately downhill from there. (though, the squid starter we did stick around to try was delicious What they did wrong: Ignore (forget? their customers. We received NO service. The host had taken our drink orders before leaving us, and when a waiter dropped them off, he refused to take our orders and headed off to join a group of ALL waiters in the busy, filled restaurant of diners already eating, etc. We heard them being schooled on the night 's specials, taking their sweet time asking and answering questions and talking about the service plan for the night. Once 15 minutes went by and my husband and I felt our business was completely unwanted, we interrupted the group to ask for the chance to give our orders. We were still brushed off. Later, one sympathetic waitress finally wrote down our orders and we asked how long it would take to prepare them, if the chef was also occupied we were on the brink of leaving. The waitress assured us there were many chefs in the kitchen. We wondered why no one was providing them with any orders. Surprisingly, the starter arrived quickly; the mains, less timely. And they were incredibly disappointing. Tasteless. Well presented, but completely lacking flavor or any reason for them to cost money. They were cooked well, prepared with fresh ingredients, but boring. I 've never dreaded a bit of chicken breast so much in my life. I forced myself to get a decent portion of the meal down because we waited so long for it and I needed the nourishment, but I lamented every bite. ...while being forced to listen to another diner 's continuously yipping dog sitting on her lap at a nearby table. Every customer was annoyed by this young woman 's canine dining partner, but no staff member seemed to care. Paying for our meal, we had to ask the waitress about the Unique Hospitality discount card we were supposed to receive, as every customer, eating there, for visiting any other of their family of restaurants. She seemed put off by the request, but did later deliver the card we were due. As we left the restaurant, absolutely no staff member looked up at us, acknowledged us, or said goodbye except the original, friendly host when we reached the door, never to look back. We 'll swear on any holy book you desire that we will NOT ever return to Anchor Inn. We LOVE great food, seek it out around the globe, appreciate a great meal for any appropriate price. The Anchor Inn seems more of the place one might be inclined to gloat to their friends and family that they can afford or do frequent, but they 're all terribly misguided when it comes to what 's worth putting into your mouth and fueling your body with. You should snub the Anchor Inn just like the staff snubs its diners."

Kiln

Kiln

United Kingdom, NE6 1LN, Newcastle upon Tyne

Vegan • Coffee • Vegetarian • Street Food


"…but that seems a long time ago now. After my last rather disappointing visit a little while ago, I thought I’d give it another go. Didn’t have a reservation but the friendly staff member 1 got me a table. It was the only table without a candle or light, pretty dark there, I thought they would bring me a candle once seated but that didn’t happen. Small details… The entire service brigade seemed exchanged, I do like a bit of continuity, in particular when they used to have excellent staff and front of house who even knew what my first drink would be and what cocktail I’d have after food. I always wondered why there was such a high turnover of excellent members of staff, they certainly are an asset to the business, it seems strange. I ordered lamb koftas which I had in the past, also some crushed potatoes. The wait for my £9 cocktail was rather long, after perhaps 30 minutes it was eventually presented by staff member 2. I then waited for the food. 1 hour 10 ! for the two rather sad looking kebabs put in font of me by staff member 3. Potatoes were a no show, I waited another 5 minutes for them and decided not to let the kebabs get cold. The £11 kebabs were very dense and chewy, the pickles required a chisel and I am sure it said cauliflower on the menu but that was missing too. The kebabs from years ago were tender and succulent, pretty much the opposite of what I had now. It reminded me of the burrata that once was really good but then became uninspired and dull. Once finished, staff member 4 asked ‘can I take these?’, referring to the plate and cutlery, without asking if I liked it. I had enough and asked for the bill. The bill still had the potatoes on it so I asked for them to be taken off. While waiting for the amended bill, staff member 5 came with some potatoes. So they didn’t forget them as I had assumed. I said “sorry, these are about 20 minutes too late, I am already in the process of paying”. Also, the £5 potatoes didn’t look crushed, they just looked like boiled potatoes to me. There were occasional problems with Kiln in the past, once I had badly undercooked fish on two separate occasions, I even contacted the place via Messenger with a picture and the reply was “we won’t reply via social … you can ring us” which I thought was very inappropriate, it’s not ‘social’ and I used that from of contact because I didn’t want to write a bad review as I really liked Kiln, then. Based on the pic, I would have been petrified if that had been my restaurant and I didn’t even get a ‘sorry’. Anyway, I won’t go back, I used to wave the flag, now it’s chaotic, the food has gone downhill dramatically, I also find it too expensive for what it is and where it is and I think that the monstrosity of a new bar has ruined a lot of the old cosiness."

Whittakers

Whittakers

58 High Street CM14 4AN, Brentwood, United Kingdom

Kebab • Pizza • Sushi • Fast Food


"We used to go to Whittaker's every weekend when visiting Brentwood,and used to recommend it ,it was always expensive,but it was good food and good service,but for the last few months it is going down hill fast! As soon as you go in now ,and...eventually noticed,we are told it will be ,or minutes wait for food,at this point many customers leave. This has happened every time we visit,so we ordered coffee,when we would have ordered food for four people,well we waited,and waited, for a coffee ,after twenty minutes I went up to the kitchen,and was told it's coming,where from Brazil!!!!!! And then nothing! Caught a waitresses eye and asked again,then we got it,and then told if we were not eating could we be quicker as there were people waiting!!!!! Anyone sitting down was told it was a long wait,so most left! That's money walking out the door! And they didn't seem to care! We discovered the reason for this terrible service,a buy came in with a massive deliveroo bag and left after ten minutes with a massive bag of food, they are now doing delivery and making the deliveroo a priority !!!!! They might think they are making a good living out of this,but the people actually there are money too! And paying extra for the privelidge of eating in. It cost more to eat i than take out! And the last time we were there,they lost our custom,so that was four,we saw another three leave,a other group of four,a couple,and that's customers ,and the as thing was no one from Whittaker's asked the people why they were going,or attempt to sort the problem out. We were sitting by the door and as it opened other customers were calling out don't bother again no staff were Interested. This cafe is packed in , more and more tables,with no room to get up or down from your table without backing Into other people,and nearly sitting on their laps. Not going back ,now they are doing deliveroo, actual customers who want to eat,are getting a very poor service. They have lost our custom for good,"

Jamie's Italian Covent Garden

Jamie's Italian Covent Garden

11, Upper St Martin's, WC2H 9FB, City of London,Westminster, United Kingdom

Pasta • Steak • Pizza • Indian


"When in London, you can find an Indian restaurant to visit and try. There are many, especially with the history of the two countries. And for dinner there are some places in each area to try. But this time on the visit we wanted to try a place that we knew of when we first tried to have dinner there over two years ago but could not get in. It was packed. The line was long and you had to wait. We could not wait that long since we had an event that night. Yet, this time we were prepared and we went. Welcome to DISHOOM. It is the style of Mumbai, but the history of Bombay. And it is based here in Covent Garden area in London. Which, in any way you think about this, it is exceptional. Within a few minutes they brought us to our table by the window so we could see what was happening outside besides the line of people waiting to get in. The hostess was helpful when she gave us our menus and asked if there were any requests. It was a good discussion since she was also from New York (upstate) and living in London for the time. It is a small world to meet from the same area but in another country. Naturally, we were able to make a few requests while looking at the menu. The first thing to have was a LASSI. A typical yoghurt-drink from India, that was mixed with mango. It is smooth and has a flavor that is special. You can find it in several Indian restaurants and establishments. But here, in Dishoom it was different. This was the type of Lassi I would normally get when working in Delhi. It was smooth and creamy. It also had a touch of fennel on top. With the Lassi, the first item we always order, VEGETABLE SAMOSAS. It is a great way to start a meal. And here it was pure vegetables. It was a short-crust pastry mixed with potatoes, vegetables of the day including peas, spiced cinnamon and other spices. It came with a tamarind style chutney for dipping. It was smooth and crunchy. The flavor was fresh and ideal. Once the samosas were finished we sat and waited to see what would come next. Per the recommendation, we had MURGH MALAI. This is a combination of bite size pieces of tender chicken thighs cooked in a creamy marinade with yoghurt, cheese, ginger, garlic and chili. It has been steeped overnight for that special taste and aroma. There is a balance of flavor from the creamy yoghurt along with the heat of the ground chili paste and warmth from the garam masala powder. It is a special taste of flavor and spices and is creamy and warm. There were also special spices and dips on the side you could always add to enhance the taste even more. Next came the CHICKEN RUBY. This is a house specialty, and it is. It is tender chicken in a rich and silky makhani sauce. It is in a proper currey with a mix of spices including garlic, chili, cumin, garam masala, yoghurt, and a makhani sauce. The chicken is flavored with a marinade that makes it special and tasty. The sauce is the combination of spice and technique that makes it different from what you could find anywhere else. This is a special dish I have not seen in New York, but only in Delhi. It was spicy, sweet, savory, and something you could not give up. With this combination came something we never even considered, but again was recommended. This is CHILI BROCCOLI SALAD. It is not as simple as you imagine. Instead it is a bowl with fresh broccoli, fresh red chilies, and pumpkin. It was topped with sunflower seeds, line, honey, shredded mint leaves and even toasted pistachios. his too could have been a meal to itself. It was a good compliment to the other dishes which were creamy and had some spice to the flavor. This was a taste to compliment everything you had. The dishes were served with NAAN and rice. Both what you expect to have when eating a meal like this anyplace you are. Typical of India is to finish the meals with a cup of CHAI. It is everywhere you go in India, but reminds you of what it might have been like in Bombay. It is rich and warm and has a flavor and taste you might know but did not expect. The team and the service is unbelievable. They are there to help and give suggestions if you are looking for something different. It is different as it is based on what you would normally find in certain regions of India itself. The more options the better. Order a variety to consider and share. There is a mix of meats and vegetables and tastes and styles. The food is excellent. The proportions are just right. This is the way to eat and share the entrees and dishes so you can experience the variety it does have. This is an ideal way to eat and have a conversation at the same time. The variety is a good selection. There is something for everyone. And ask for the recommendations. Step into Dishoom. Step back into India. See what you might have been missing in many ways. Dishoom is a port to experience."