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Circa 1852 Coffee Shop

Circa 1852 Coffee Shop

Station Approach, PE8 6XB, Peterborough, United Kingdom

Coffee • British • European • Breakfast


"We are only occasional diners at this hotel and it is nearly a year since we were last there. This time round we were there for a large celebration Sunday lunch, booked well in advance. Firstly we were in the bar for a pre lunch drink. Their drink prices are high and their service abysmal! The poor chap behind the bar was in the wrong job. He took forever with the order and got much of it wrong. The service was so bad we were giggling at it. It would have made a tremendous comedy film! We moved to the dining room. They were not exactly rushed, with only our table occupied and one other of two people. There were four main course choices, but one (the duck was crossed out saying sold out . Bear in mind that this menu was the special Sunday lunch menu and we were the first in the dining room! After eventual ordering we waited an age for the first courses, two of which had to be returned to the kitchen as being the wrong items. We then had to wait an age for the main course, which was brought out in dribs and drabs, and again at least two had to be returned to the kitchen to be changed. Then, again a very long wait, during which three of our party had to leave without their dessert to attend another event (well we had been at lunch for nearly three hours by then thanks to poor service! After serving each course the few staff would all disappear and no one was available to deal with any queries. Eventually tea and coffee was served, and the waiter threw a few sugars round the table with a few wooden sticks which were apparently in place of spoons (no thought of putting them into a bowl . Such was the service. The problem is obvious to see ill trained, unsupervised staff. The food was generally good and was let down by poor service and incorrectly recorded orders, and in the kitchen by inadequate ordering of menu items and cool plates. As things stand, I would not chose to eat here again."

Richard The Third

Richard The Third

Market Place, DL8 4NP, Richmondshire, United Kingdom

Cafés • Steak • Seafood • British


"A Saturday in mid March. A group of 6 of us had a look in for a drink and a bite of lunch. There were other customers in so there was a bit of atmosphere but it certainly didn’t seem overly busy. We got a seat, bought a beer, and perused the lunchtime menu. Then it got interesting there was much confusion between the bar and kitchen staff as to which items on the menu were available or not. Orders were placed and had to be changed when it became apparent they didn’t have to basic ingredients/foodstuffs to make them. When our “baguettes” arrived they were just bread buns. A beef and onion bun lacked onion. Similarly, pork and apple lacked apple. On speaking with staff they seemed particularly exasperated with things. They explained that the landlady had recently opened a cafe 4 doors up and rather than being organised and order foodstuffs for the cafe, she was merely raiding the kitchens at this pub leaving the stock depleted and not communicating this fact. This situation was not the fault of the kitchen or bar staff who seemed frustrated at it all. The place was just badly managed, had an air of chaos, and produced “baguettes” that weren’t and were missing items. Seems that the landlady should start running the place properly. Her staff certainly weren’t impressed!! Oh, and the ‘inspirational’ and ‘funny’ quotes written on the walls with thick black marker pen (with bad grammar) are just naff! Would we recommend the place. Nope. Would we go back again. Nope."

The Pearl Beckenham

The Pearl Beckenham

2 Southend Rd, Beckenham, United Kingdom

Cafés • Seafood • European • Vegetarian


"A huge disappointment. First time here, party of 8 of us for my birthday. Venue is gorgeous, but that's where it ends. Kept waiting a very long time once food was ordered, to the point I had to get up and ask when it was coming and was told by the flustered waiter it's coming it's coming . Four of my guests ordered pina colada's all four of them sent it back saying there was no/ very little rum in it. They topped it up with the missing alcohol!Two of us ordered the dressed crab we both thought it was just okay nothing special. I had a lemon on the plate with like a net on it. Took the net off to squeeze over the dish and the lemon was dry with mouldy shrivelled skin that looked like it had been at the back of a cupboard for a week. I didn't complain because I was with guests, but it was noticed. Another guest ordered prawns for starters, They were mostly shell with just a load of sauce on top. There was confusion over the prawn/ lobster linguine which most of us ordered. The menu made it confusing. They ended up bringing us extra prawns separately because of it. I ended up with lobster linguine. We could not believe how bland the food was. It was a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce on! It was tasteless, the only give that gave it any seasoning was the pepper on the table. The lobster' was a rubbery texture that you couldn't taste because it was smothered in this tasteless sauce. There was not even a hint of garlic in it. For £29 that was a joke. We all thought the same, not just me. I could have bought a jar of sauce from the supermarket and made a bowl of that for all of us at home, I've had tastier meals from shop bought sauces than that meal. Our waiter was running around, and trying to get one of my guests to smile, which she found annoying. Someone else found a hair in her meal. He seemed to not know what to do with it, then just took the plate away without saying anything. He then returned and quite patronisingly said was it an eyelash or something She said no it was a long hair. He agreed to take it off the bill. The other staff were very quiet when bringing the food over, almost a whisper, considering music was playing and other people were talking and four of our guests had their backs to them when the food turned up, no one could hear them. We had to pipe up and say who's ordered xx The staff otherwise looked both busy and nonchalant. Busy, but not with us, and almost spaced out as though we didn't exist and we had to keep on waving for their attention. We honestly couldn't believe it. They gave us complimentary shots in the end but by then we were there for way longer than we expected and had had enough. They had lime but didn't even have any salt that you would normally have the shot with, again, we had to ask for it and they, all in their own good time, bought a small bowl of salt over. We didn't pay the £36 service charge they added to the bill. For a group of 8 of us, and we all felt the same, there has got to be something in it. We had high hopes for this restaurant but the quality of the food and service does not match the venue, and its all way way over priced. Needless to say, none of us will be going back."

Cafe St Honore

Cafe St Honore

34 Thistle Street Lane North West, Edinburgh I-EH2 1EA, United Kingdom

French • European • Scottish • Vegetarian


"The diners all agreed this was the best Sunday lunch in a long time. Why didn’t we have roast beef and Yorkshire pudding more often? It ŵas a firm fixture of our childhood. The fact that it happened to be a Tuesday evening and that this was the FIFTH meat course that evening made this statement all the more remarkable. Far from our palates being jaded, they were reawakened by the fabulous taste of the meat. We’d been invited to sample the beef and lamb supplied by Hebriddean Foods. If the name sounds familiar you might remember me waxing lyrical about their seafood that I tasted. Now owner Douglas Stewart who is astonishingly just 24 years old, is bringing meat raised in the Hebrides to a wider audience. We heard how love of sheep had skipped a generation. His Grandfather raised sheep but Douglas’ father chose to go into lobster fishing instead. The sheep that Douglas sources are raised in a very similar way to those his Grandfather tended, on a small tidal island Vallay from October to June. Located off the coast of North Uist, the beasts are mostly left to their own devices even when giving birth. Part of the year they are taken off the island and are grazed on heather for added flavour. We are dining at Café St Honoré. Chef Neil,Forbes is the obvious choice to showcase the meat. His style of cooking which has previously won him Chef of the Year focuses on taste and cooking prime ingredients simply. We start with a breaded lamb cutlet. I’d consider this something of a retro dish and something I wouldn’t choose from a menu usually. If all breaded lamb cutlets were like this I would have them more often. The meat is beautifully juicy with a perfect crust. The portions were supposed to be small but if these are small I can only wonder at what large portions look like. Next up is a seam boned leg of lamb. This means it is butchered following the natural seams of the lamb. It’s moist and has a slight chewiness. We sample rump steak which is one of the best I have tried, then slow cooked shin of beef which Neil later confesses to being his favourite to cook. It has a deep unctuous flavour and is served with Neil’s very buttery mash – heaven. All completely delicious. Time to bring back Sunday Lunch? The prime Highland bullocks are processed at 3 years, longer than the industry standard. This is in part due to the slow-growing attributes of the Highland breed as well as environmental factors. The result is an overall rich depth of flavour that stands out from other commercial breeds and systems of farming. The beef is then dry-aged on the hook for 3- 4 weeks. Douglas plans to experiment with longer hanging times for a more intense flavour and texture in the near future. The lamb has a hanging time of 2 weeks. These days getting produce delivered in prime condition is perfectly possible. Ice packs keep the meat or fish fresh for ages. No excuse then to try some meat from Hebriddean Foods. The meat is in sensibly sized portions and is reasonable in price. Please forget that well known Scottish sounding purveyor of meat and taste the real thing. I tried the rack of lamb. I cooked it in the sous vide at 60C for 2.5 hours, then finished it off in the pan. It was very moist and tasty! You can imagine where the meat was raised on that island happily and without stress. You can also think of Douglas who is already thinking up new ideas of how to bring more fabulous meat to us by courier The Hebridean Food Company Ronay, 7 Kallin Grimsay, Isle of North Uist HS6 5HY Follow Hebridean Food on Twitter Like Hebridean Food on Facebook Douglas will be attending various Scottish events over the summer including the Foodies Festival in August."