Kale Salad Kale Salad

Fresh kale tossed with lemon vinaigrette, topped with almonds and parmesan.

The Allonton Inn

The Allonton Inn

Main Street, TD11 3JZ, Scottish Borders, United Kingdom

Pubs • British • European • Scottish


"So, we had booked one of Allentown’s pods for our evening meal some time ago, opting for a pod as we had our hound with us, the establishment having a no dogs policy. Fair enough. When we arrived in the pouring rain, the manager told us in no uncertain terms that due to the rain her staff would not be serving food in the pods and that our dog would have to stay in the car as the dog going inside “would upset the locals”. We said this was not an option. The way this was put across by the manager can only be described as hostile. We were told 5hat if the dog misbehaved we would be told (not asked) to leave. Had we not prepaid a deposit for the seafood platter, we would have turned around there and then. We were put on a perfectly acceptable table, served by a slightly over-compensating and embarrassed waitress and had a very tasty meal. One drink, no starters no dessert and a hasty exit followed as our evening had been spoiled. Absolutely shocking and shabby customer service. Purely because of this, I rate one trip adviser blob. If I could rate zero blobs I would. Dog owners beware and take heed of this tale. It was not our fault it was precipitating down; if there was a problem us having a dog then we should have been called beforehand. There was no respect for us as customers and we will never darken their door again. Finally, the food was great. But the manager left a very sour taste that we cannot shift."

Gunpowder

Gunpowder

11 Whites Row, London I-E1 7NF, United Kingdom

Asian • Vegan • Indian • Vegetarian


"This is a review of the new Gunpowder in the One Tower Bridge development that doesn't have it's own entry in Zomato yet. It's a handsome place but acoustics are lousy when it is crowded. The food is good but be warned that portion sizes are dainty relative to rather high prices. I love that they seem to focus on the lighter, brighter side of Indian cooking instead of the stodgy fatty things available in a typical curry house. We started with aloo chat which is a really fresh and bright dish I like. Boiled spiced potato and cauliflower, tart yoghurt, sweet tamarind sauce, fresh notes of raw coriander and raw red onion and micro herbs, garnished with a little deep fried lotus root. Well balanced and tasty. Peanut and flattened chickpea chaat was great too. Skin on peanuts, spring onion, coriander, cucumber and chickpeas that had indeed been pounded flat and roasted. Kashmiri grilled lamb chops were divine and came with a punchy coriander chutney. Very tender, served medium rare, with a flavourful spice rub. It came with some strands of pickled cabbage where the acidity was a nice foil for the fatty meat. Patara maach was fish steamed in banana leaf on the grill served with some spiced pickled cauliflower. Fish was tender and rubbed with a nice emongrassy paste. The only dish we ordered I didn't care for were the okra fries. I like bhindi when the okra's are halved lengthwise and dredged in chickpea flour before deep frying. However, these had been cut into very thin julienne slivers and then tossed in the chickpea flour. Though the frying technique was perfect (crisp, with no greasy texture) slicing the okraso finely resulted in a heavy dish. We attended the reduced price soft launch. At full price with a bottle house wine, dinner for two would have been £70 including service. Expensive for Indian, but worth it because it was refined and elevated."

The Old Workshop Cafe

The Old Workshop Cafe

Sullington Lane, RH20 4AE, Horsham, United Kingdom

Cafe • Cafés • Coffee • British


"I visited with my brother last Sunday and really wanted to love this café. First impressions were good: the location at the foot of the Downs was beautiful and the venue was set in a lovely old restored barn. We entered and alas downhill from that point on. A greeting and ordering procedure would have been nice but we were ignored so we milled around feeling a bit foolish, then picked up a menu and found an (unwiped table outside. The smell of frying bacon was enticing so we ordered bacon baps only to be told that the baps had run out! It was only 1.45pm. The reason given was that they had been busy . On a popular walkers and cyclists route on a fine weekend the demand should have been predictable and catered for: after all this café has been running for four years. I then tried to order scones but they had all gone too. We finally settled for lime cheesecake with raspberries (sadly no raspberries, ran out of those too , tasty but topping was melting; banana cake (delicious and coffee (lukewarm . The coffee was delivered after 20 minutes; 15 minutes later we 'd drunk it and still no sign of the cakes. When I went into the café the owner was holding a bunch of tabs and it was clear the system such as it is had unravelled: the owner herself said it was chaos. I was assured the cake was coming so ordered another coffee. The cakes came but the coffee didn 't (not written down so I had to remind again. People had been arriving but were being turned away as the café was I believe closing early. Our bill for two cakes (no reduction for the missing raspberries! , three coffees and dreadful service came to £17.50 which I reckon is pricey for such a poor experience. Reading previous reviews going back four years a common thread reoccurs: the whole operation falls to pieces when a 'busy ' period is encountered. Lessons should have been learnt by now namely, experienced staff, efficient system and sufficient food stocks. This café has such potential (I know, I have worked in several and with some effort it should reach it."