Tartare Tartare
The Square Fish Café

The Square Fish Café

The Square, Maidstone, United Kingdom

Fish • Full • Wine • Meat


"Fine food and Issues Decided to visit as the reviews were mainly great. Arrived to find it looked ten minutes after due to be open. They were just opening the door. I went in and quickly used the toilet, not flushed by last person that used it! It's a well laid out, well decorated restaurant. I chose the Escargots as my starter, well cooked with a very small amount of sauce sadly no tongs to hold the shell. They were 6 very nice molluscs. The main was an absolutely sensational tasty seafood salad. Interesting dressing on a generous variety of sea food and nice salad. I had ordered a lime and soda, it transpired they had no lime so someone went out to buy some and could only get lemon, which was ok. When it came to the desert I liked the idea of four of them but ordered the lemon tart. A few minutes later the lady running front of house (I later discovered it was her first day in post!! Returned hugely apologetic telling me sadly they had no lemon tart. I chose the cherry clafouti and a few minutes later the young lady came back devastated to tell me they had none of that either! I eventually had a brownie, which she didn't charge me for. Must confess it didn't excite and the supplied ice cream was quite crystallised as if it had been refrozen. The table next to me were told they had no more Escargot, so clearly they opened with only one portion available. Front of house was good, 2/3 of the food I had was great but clearly someone needs to sort out the kitchen too many problems to give customers confidence of availability. Was it worth the trip? Oh yes but they have some serious organisational issues to resolve."

Robata

Robata

56 Old Compton St, London W1D 4UE, United Kingdom

Sushi • Grill • Asian • Japanese


"To manage one 's expectations, I would describe Robata as Japanese inspired rather than authentic Japanese food. To summarise, the service was good and the food was okay. Here are the pros and cons: Pros The waiting staff was attentive and gracious, even though 2 of our guests were VERY late. I really commend them for their patience. Service was fast. The waiting staff was well versed in allergens and there were plenty of dairy free and gluten free options The interior was quirky and reminded me of Japanese manga meets art nouveau which I liked very much! The general ambience and music were upbeat I can imagine Robata being a good option for pre going out dinner with friends or a casual first date, but some may find it a bit loud for intimate dinners The sake mojito was delicious! Cons The traditional Japanese menu items including sushi rolls and sashimi did not perform strongly. The robatayaki skewer items (Robata 's name sake) were better, but unfortunately did not steal my heart I felt the flavours and seasoning were too strong for my palate and this genre of food Neutral Observations The menu was eclectic with a mixture of Japanese (sushi, robatayaki) Korean (kimchi rice), Peruvian (ceviche) and other foods (I 'm not sure where tartare originates). There were some open 'bao ' options, which were some Asian inspired hot fillings wrapped in a flat piece of steamed bun. Personally, I 'm not a fan but I 've encountered this in a few restaurants in London so this seems to be a popular concept in recent times. Who knows? "