Risotto Verde
La Meridiana

La Meridiana

Ockham Road South, KT24 6QU, Guildford, United Kingdom

Pasta • Pizza • Steak • Chicken


"I met up with my brother Chris and his wife Jean this week and they chose their local Italian restaurant La Meridiana in East Horsley for our meal. It’s a lovely airy venue in a small Surrey village with comfortable chairs around roomy tables which have lovely white linen cloths and napkins. We received a prompt and friendly greeting from the staff and we decided on their Lunch Set Menu. For Starters we all chose Bianchetti Fritti(Deep-fried breaded whitebait with tartare sauce)which was hit, crispy and excellent. For Mains Jean chose Panciotti di Melanzana e Ricotta (v)(Stuffed pasta with Ricotta cheese eggplant with spinach puree cream sauce)which looked interesting. Chris went for Pollo Monte Bianco(Pan fried chicken breast with mushrooms sauce served with new potatoes)which looked appealing and they said they enjoyed their choices. I decided on Lasagna Al Forno(Layers of pasta with Bolognese sauce parmesan cheese, baked in the oven)which came piping hot and was a very authentic, generous and very tasty portion. We accompanied this with a very good Nero d'Avola for Chris and I and a Rosé for Jean. I decided to forgo Desserts because my delicious lasagne was very filling but Chris and Jean went for Homemade Tiramisu which looked amazing and they said was lovely. We finished with Italian coffee, double expressos for Chris and I, and an Americano for Jean. We all really enjoyed meeting up in a lovely restaurant!"

The River Grille

The River Grille

Prince Street Narrow Key Bristol, BS1 4QF, BS1 4PS, United Kingdom

Beer • Wine • Cafe • British


"It was ok over all. The starters were superb, really good. The main courses were amazingly ordinary and disappointing. My steak was a medium rare fillet. It was accurately medium rare but strangely dry , almost as if it had been sitting under a heat lamp and it had very little flavour. I had a lemon meringue pie where meringue was wet and sloppy and the pastry was as if ready cooked from a supermarket. My companion had a slow cooked lamb shank which is usually an easy winner but again it was dry with a sauce which had been poured over it and then congealed. . A slow cooked lamb shank usually has the wonderful juices in which it has slowly come to fruition. The food came with minimal vegetables . Side dishes were ostentatiously expensive. As is the whole menu. We paid £180 for three people including the tip. Enough for a bargain weekend away somewhere. As a family we have dined in some amazing restaurants and understand the costs involved at times and pay willingly when the experience is special. But the whole way through this meal it was short of great. The waiters were friendly and attentive but far too eager to top up your wine glass. It became a nuisance and a pressure. Half a glass does not need topping up to the brim. To top things off for me I went to the ladies at 10.35 at the end of our meal . There is only one toilet for the whole restaurant. There was a cleaning person in the loo. spraying the most toxic and pungent fumes. Having entered this airless cubicle, two lungs full of Izal or what ever chemical obliterated all memory of the meal and the wine. At 10.35? The inference also being that I was not required on the premises any longer. The Maitr d' was charming and as friendly and helpful as he could be. 5 stars for him! The situation was lovely and we had a table by the window. However the experience did not in any measure add up to the lush advertisement online and was very very expensive at the price."