Sea Bass Ceviche
The Refuge By Volta

The Refuge By Volta

Oxford Road, Manchester I-M60 7HA, United Kingdom

British • European • Vegetarian • Contemporary


"Excellent! We spent around four hours here on a Tuesday afternoon sampling their food, savouring their coffee and scabbing their free wifi! I 'll start with the basics. The Refuge is conveniently located on Oxford Street just a two minute walk from the train station. The casual seating area is huge with plenty of places for different sized groups to sit, there 's even an Apprentice Style boardroom table. The vibe is very relaxed but when I entered I noticed a lot of business people (or people clearly working). The decor is fantastic, as mentioned its a huge open space but the dark wooden finish makes it feel close and comfortable. The lunch menu isn 't huge but they clearly want to keep things simple and do them right. I had the beef burger accompanied by skinny fries and it was delicious. Just the right consistency so you could pick it up without it falling apart. It was generously topped with salad and the 'posh big mac ' sauce finished it off nicely. If you want to eat you 'll have to head through to the dining area as they don 't serve food in the lounge beware this was very busy, even on a Tuesday, so you may need to book in advance. After lunch we headed back to the lounge area and had a coffees while we chatted. The coffee was great, I had a flat white which was just off on the good side of bitter. We also ordered snacks later in the day the Almonds cooked in bacon fat are a must try that might sound gross to some people but just wait until the bacon flavour hits your taste buds! To access the free wifi you 'll need to sign up wth your email address but then it 's all yours. I haven 't even received a spammy email a week later. It 's really hard to fault The Refuge the staff were attentive without being too in your face, which I suppose is important when people are using their premises for business meets! All in all a really great experience and a lovely place to spend the afternoon working."

The Red Fort

The Red Fort

77 Dean Street Soho London, W1D 3SH, United Kingdom

Beer • Wine • Indian • Delivery Services


"only to be clear to everyone what kind of place they will visit. I and my wife had dinner last night. the place was quite busy, but they had only a few employees who looked very tired and unhappy. After we finish our meal, we spend a little time out when the personal member came out. we asked him/her about the night and we told him/her that he/she looks very tired. after we started chatting. he told us the further developments: they are paid daily (this amount hardly the minimum) without service charge for 8-10 hours work and the toilet cleaner sometimes do 12 hours under the minimum wage. probably they get less money tips what they should be. another thing that the owner does not pay regularly. few people of the staff are waiting for 2 months salary there is a person who is for 3! a few people from the ex staff who come back to ask what is about their february or March pimp. if they can do this, they do not pay the holiday allowance and of course most employees will not get a contract even after 2 months. if the manager has a bad day, he will punish the staff for it. he can be very annoyed if his personal himself makes a small mistake and he himself lets himself behave such a thing that he should not do, although he does not pay for his personal in time what I think is not a small mistake from his side, not talking about his attitude. if someone asks this question when can I expect for my salary? he lies, laughs or says that I can't do anything, even if one of his latest and most reliable workers ask him with drinking his eyes. enjoy their meal in the red fort"

Darcie May Green

Darcie May Green

Sheldon Square, London I-W2 6DS, United Kingdom

Vegan • Desserts • Australian • Vegetarian


"My boyfriend and I had an absolutely brilliant evening here for our anniversary last week (mid October). The staff were so friendly and welcoming, and the ambience was just delightful. We arrived an hour earlier than our booking and enjoy some drinks on the roof of the boat. As it wasn't busy, we were able to be seated 15 minutes earlier than our booking which made the night go more smoothly. The food was served quicker than expected (about 15 mins if that), and was all presented very nicely. We ordered several small plates to share. Everything was divine! I would just like to point out for other guests, in case they skim over the menu as we did; the sweet potato chips are HUGE. You only get about 4 or 5 and it looks like the entire sweet potato has been slices long ways with the skin. Yummy but we didn't even eat half so I wouldn't order if you're not absolutely starving. ALSO: the regular chips are cooked in duck fat. As a vegetarian I didn't order this, but I did pinch some of my boyfriend's chips, as every girlfriend does, only to realise a few moments later what I had consumed... again still yummy, but I wish I had known beforehand. Could not boast enough about how amazing all the food was!! The cocktails were delicious. I enjoyed a french martini and a rosemary rush, the latter had a particular kick I'm still mouth watering over even a few days later!! The dessert was impeccable. We got the chocolate ball as did everyone in the restaurant, and it did not disappoint! That was plenty between two people. It's also quite romantic to share too. But being us, we also ordered the yogurt meringue delicious!! As we had such a great conversation with the manager and mentioned it was our anniversary, he didn't charge for our desserts! We were so touched, we are hoping to take some friends back with us soon. Would definitely 1000% recommend this fun little find. Also it is only maybe 10 footsteps from Paddington Station! Definitely a date night to remember."

Chotto Matte

Chotto Matte

11-13 Frith Street London, W1D 4RB, United Kingdom

Beer • Wine • Sushi • Japanese


"We arrived to Chotto Matte London in a group of six. We was seated at a table suited for six but it did feel small and cramped. We all had £75 per head and was looking forward to our visit. We scanned a barcode for the menu but it wasn’t very user friendly at all. Here are the dishes I ordered and tried Spicy Chicken Karaage nice flavour, good kick and presented well. The coating was nice. Arroz Chaufa I didn’t go past the second try. We had this ordered 3 times around the table, not one person eat it. Felt grainy and didn’t go together Chuleta de Cordero Ahumada the lamb itself was cooked beautifully. I couldn’t get over the toppings of nuts etc, it was very strong. Perfectly cooked meat, but the rest was not up to my personal taste. Pollo Picante now if there is one thing this restaurant cooks wells, it’s the chicken. The chicken is delicious and this for me was the best dish of the evening. Put a smile on my face and topped everything I tried. Yuca Frita this was cassava wedges and was the first thing I tried and it was a lovely start. Tastes nice, soft on the inside and a lovely crust. Chocolate ice cream tasted like it came out of a tub and didn’t bother me. A nice refreshing end. The atmosphere had a certain ambiance. The food is cooked insight and is brought out when it’s made. You order what you’d like and it arrives sporadically. One of the guys around the table has to wait until we had our 3rd or 4th dish for him to get his. The waiters seemed confused as to what dish was delivered. We had a halal eating member on our table but they twice got told “wait, I have your dish so not sure what you’ve been given” as similar looking dishes were mixed up. I won’t say how it ended. The staff were friendly and nice, always helpful too. All in all, I see the quirky side, the idea for service and the design of the menu but it wasn’t for me, and the rest of the team felt the same way. Nice to have experienced this restaurant but I can’t see myself coming again."