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 • Dining • British • European


"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."

Sukha Lounge

Sukha Lounge

706 Christchurch Road, BH7 6BY, Bournemouth, United Kingdom

Vegan • Coffee • Drinks • Breakfast


"Visited for lunch with a vegan friend over from Finland for a few days, Sukha had been recommended to her by others and so we ventured forth!! My friend had crushed avocado on toast and I have to admit that while it looked nice and she said it tasted good, the portion was tiny, really tiny. She washed it down with an elder flower canned drink. The kale salad she ordered didn't get served until I asked for it right at the end and again, it was declared tasty. I had a carrot and nut burger with some chilli relish. It was very tasty, really tasty, but in my opinion, would have been even better if the roll it was in was either fresh and softer or maybe, toasted. I chose to have a lovely slaw as a side dish and their delicious espresso, date and banana smoothie. We chose not to have a cake as they looked as if they'd been there a while and not very fresh I'm afraid I'm a trained pastry chef and have an eye for these things after 55 years in the trade. The surroundings are a bit on the dull side, it's obviously been put together for the atmosphere and on a budget it's no worse for this to be honest, in fact, it adds to the character some of the customers were definite tributes to the age of hippies in Ibiza 50+ years ago (me among them in those days . The cafe is on a busy road, under a snooker club which is where you'll need to go to use a loo if you need one. Go along with an open mind and willingness to try something different and new, if you're a meat eater, you'll almost certainly be pleasantly surprised. If you're veggie or vegan, then you'll understand what they do at Sukha and are in for a very pleasant visit. Good luck to the cafe, I hope that you'll be there for my next visit to your area, if you are, I'll definitely be back:"

Cadbury Garden Centre

Cadbury Garden Centre

Smallway, North Somerset, United Kingdom

Fish • Cafés • Coffee • Breakfast


"We were at the garden centre and decided to use the restuarant. There were about 6 people waiting already and it looked like there were no tables free, so a wait was in order. Of the people in front , one had a walking disability and was leaning hevily on a stick. As time passed we watched as the first 10 tables cleared and no one from the queue was let into sit. We were now 15 20 minutes in and the queue had risen to maybe 20 people and the empty tables I counted 16. So I mentioned it to a waiter who was serving tea, he disappeared and nothing happened. Another 5 or 10 minutes passed and there was an abundance of empty tables; the lady in front needed a seat as she had been standing over 30 minutes, so we went and got her one. During this time several waiting staff had been to the head of the queue to replace menus that had come from the empty tables and one waitress even stopped to drink her tea but none of them even spoke to the head of the queue; they just ignored them. I complained again and was told to complain to another person by the serving hatch who was wearing an apron because they were supervisors. I told the supervisor there were about 20 old age pensioners, some with walking difficulties and they were being ignored when they could be let in to at least sit down. I was told quite curtly 'I am serving customers '. What the HELL did she think we were?? After discussion she said the kitchen was backed up because everyone had ordered at once, so I pointed out that she was causing the problem because she was now going to have another 20 orders all at once whereas if she had allowed people in it would be a trickle. Eventually we were let in. I would have walked away but my wife is diabetic and has to eat so we ordered Quiche; I had a green salad. It arrived fairly quickly but my quiche was gritty and I left about a quarter as it wasn 't very nice (my wife 's was ok) and some of the cucumber my green salad had gone mushy and the leaves had gone brown most of the salad was well past its best I left all the salad. My Wife had chosen different options and they were ok. I would avoid this place at all costs! I would also recommend to who ever owns this place that they put the manager and some of their senior staff on written warnings because of the way they treat their customers and their lack of concern over disabled people."

Costa Cafe

Costa Cafe

37 London Road, CO3 0NR, Colchester, United Kingdom

Cafe • Coffee • British • Italian


"Cafe embodies the best of a chef-owner restaurant experience. The restaurant is a veritable gem. Chef Sotomayor is a culinary genius. The staff are welcoming, accommodating, and professional. We dined outdoors and found it as comfortable and well executed as indoor dining. My wife and I were tasked with planning two memorial luncheons, each of these events for approximately people. The memorial luncheons honored family members who died during the pandemic and provided an opportunity for our family to finally gather safely. After extensively researching restaurants across Bergen County, we decided on Cafe based on the quality of food, service, and the attention to detail provided by Chef Sotomayor. My wife and I live in Manhattan and are no strangers to fine dining. In all honesty, we are very demanding; yet, our experience at Cafe exceeded our expectations and some of experiences at some of the best restaurants in Manhattan. Cafe is successful at providing fine dining without sacrificing authenticity and intimacy. Eating at Cafe is the experience you would imagine eating at a friend's house - if the friend was an award-winning chef. From the beginning of planning our events, Chef Sotomayor was extremely responsive and thoughtful. In the early stages of planning the memorial luncheons, my wife and I visited the restaurant to sample from the standard dinner menu. The most difficult part of planning was narrowing down the dinner menu to a luncheon menu; we liked virtually everything on the dinner menu. Chef Sotomayor worked with us to narrow down the menu to a few appetizers, entrees, and desserts. My favorites were the kale salad (and I do not really love kale), tuna, filet mignon but our guests loved the other options. The feedback from our guests was overwhelmingly positive. The food was excellent; the service was exceptional (thanks Felix My wife and I plan to return regularly, especially while the weather is still good and there is the opportunity to sit outside under the nicely adorned tent or in some of the non-covered seating. The only downside is that there is no liquor license. However, there is a very well stocked liquor store across the street with a very good wine selection."