The Caernarvon has long been our regular pub for a Friday night sherb prior to the Indian takeaway. It has a transient clientele on a Friday, the after work brigade, the pre-hit the town crew, the early doors brigade and the regulars. We spend a couple of hours putting the world to rights and doing a bit of people watching, and then wander home.
They do have a large restaurant and occasionally we will eat there. The pub is part of the Greene King empire so the menu is made up of staple pub grub like ham egg and chips, steaks, burgers and fish and chips. There are specials occasionally like lamb shank and salmon. The waiting on staff are always miserable and you wonder why they bother coming in to work, but at least they are consistent.
It must be a pre-requisite for working here because the bar staff all used to be miserable as well, but they have definitely become happier under the new landlord. They still fail to spot the order in which people come to the bar though. I have commented previously about how annoying I find that.
On Tuesday I decided to save SWMBO from the kitchen, and we ventured up to the pub for a taste of their cuisine. We ordered a jumbo burger for number two son, two chicken burgers and a cheese burger for the rest of us. You pay at the bar and then go and sit at your table patiently waiting for the gastronomic feast to arrive.
Eventually it did. It all looked fine. There were, however, little plastic containers full of side sauces. Well actually they weren't full, they were half full. So we asked for top ups of bbq sauce and guacamole, which arrived a bit later. We also compared portion control as it applied to the chips. There were anomalies with one meal having a 'normal' portion and the other three having 'small' portions. Certainly things had been cut back since we were last here for a meal.
Anyway all the food was fine and got eaten, but I did feel the need to point out that we were disappointed by the portions of chips.
'It's all regulated by the brewery' came the reply to my comments.' We are a Greene King pub you know'. Well I indicated again my disappointment and pointed out that the independent pubs close by were more generous in their helpings, and I got a very offish response. Why do English catering staff ask if everything is alright, and then get the right hump when you say that it isn't and point out their failings?
Well I am sure we will be in there again as a last resort, however if you find yourself in there don't expect loads of chips, and try to avoid the Hunters Chicken, its a horror fest.
Thursday 6 October 2011
Wednesday 27 July 2011
The Wro
Last friday it was off to West Kirby for a stag night, a quiet affair with six of us, the groom, best man, two ushers a friend and me, father of the bride. Now I had never had a run ashore in West Kirby, nor have I watched the television programme Cougar Town, however, I get the impression that on a Friday night, that is just what West Kirby transforms itself into.
We met first at the Wro bar, and had a pint of Boddingtons, the beer people stock when they can't be bothered to install a hand pump, and then we moved over the road to the Wro lounge to have something to eat. There is a third Wro, the loft, but that is for special evenings and major sporting events.
The menu in the bar and lounge is the same, but the lounge is more geared up to eating than the bar which can get a bit crowded . So we were shown to our tale, and ordered some more drinks while we ordered. We passed on starters and went straight in to mains, one steak, medium rare, two hot pizza's, and two chillies for the guests, a burger for the groom and away we go.
The young Irish waitress who took our order was a bit miserable, but the other staff were cheery enough. The older lady ( the owner?) who is normally in there was not evident on Friday, and given she can be a bit 'strange', that may have been why the mood of the place was lighter than normal. We did have to wait an hour or so for our food which might have been a problem if you were a cosy twosome, but the reason was evident when we walked in, there were two large groups already seated so we were a bit behind in the pecking order.
Still, the food when it came was fine, although the burger was a bit heavy on bread and light on burger. The chilli was hot and not at all cooked to suit the middle of the road gang, and the steak was cooked as ordered. It could have been a bit pinker, so rare would be my call next time i am in there.
Only mild irritation was the cutlery and condiments arriving in a small metal bucket which you would expect in a family oriented diner, not an adult eating establishment.
The clientele made for great people watching, with loads of mixed age couples being the subject of our rather basic lines in conversation. The Wirral's answer to Alderley Edge is right on our doorstep!!
We met first at the Wro bar, and had a pint of Boddingtons, the beer people stock when they can't be bothered to install a hand pump, and then we moved over the road to the Wro lounge to have something to eat. There is a third Wro, the loft, but that is for special evenings and major sporting events.
The menu in the bar and lounge is the same, but the lounge is more geared up to eating than the bar which can get a bit crowded . So we were shown to our tale, and ordered some more drinks while we ordered. We passed on starters and went straight in to mains, one steak, medium rare, two hot pizza's, and two chillies for the guests, a burger for the groom and away we go.
The young Irish waitress who took our order was a bit miserable, but the other staff were cheery enough. The older lady ( the owner?) who is normally in there was not evident on Friday, and given she can be a bit 'strange', that may have been why the mood of the place was lighter than normal. We did have to wait an hour or so for our food which might have been a problem if you were a cosy twosome, but the reason was evident when we walked in, there were two large groups already seated so we were a bit behind in the pecking order.
Still, the food when it came was fine, although the burger was a bit heavy on bread and light on burger. The chilli was hot and not at all cooked to suit the middle of the road gang, and the steak was cooked as ordered. It could have been a bit pinker, so rare would be my call next time i am in there.
Only mild irritation was the cutlery and condiments arriving in a small metal bucket which you would expect in a family oriented diner, not an adult eating establishment.
The clientele made for great people watching, with loads of mixed age couples being the subject of our rather basic lines in conversation. The Wirral's answer to Alderley Edge is right on our doorstep!!
Wednesday 6 July 2011
The Manor
Now I think first impressions are vital when deciding whether or not to select a particular outlet for Sunday lunch, so it was lucky that we had been to The Manor, in Greasby, before. I rang up to make a reservation a few days before hand and found that they had introduced a selective telephone service. I duly went through the options , arriving at the future reservations menu, only to be informed that this option only functioned until 18:00, would I ring back later? Bit of a nuisance, but I rang back on the day to book. The maitre d' was fairly brusk on the telephone which made me a bit suspicious that the restaurant may have changed hands, but I booked anyway and we turned up as planned at 4pm.
We had already been informed that we could have the table for two hours and we had no problem with this, and given it was barbecue weather we had not anticipated it would be rammed. We had a drink as we scanned the menu and then were approached by the maitre d' for our orders.
Now they had two on during the afternoon, and the grumpy one looked like Greg Wallace from MasterChef , iIt was he who took the order. SWMBO selected the roast beef, and luckily we knew it came rare, but 'Greg' failed to ask how we wanted it, we mentioned it to the waiter when we sat down and it was presented medium no problem.
We are also regular enough to know the service can be a bit brisk, so we asked 'Greg' if we could have a good 15-20 minute break between courses. This was greeted with a ' I'll ask the chef' ' in a manner that suggested eating a three course meal in half an hour was one of the attractions of the establishment.
So caveat emptor, if you are going to the manor for the first time.
Now onto the food and service. All of it was very enjoyable. We had the black pudding as one starter, and the terrine of ham hock as the other. The bread was a bit doughy with the pate, but other than that it was fine. The mains were aforesaid Sunday roast beef and trimmings, and I had a shank of lamb which was very pleasant. We had two bottles of Viognier through the meal, and without the break between courses we may have only had one, so there is a good reason to allow people to pace their eating, you can sell more wine!
The waiting on staff are mostly young people dressed impeccably in French style white shirt and black apron, and the other maitre d' was very pleasant and polite. we even found out they have just opened a new restaurant in West Kirby, called Milan, on the site of the previously named Green Room. we will give that a try.
The meal was £13.95 for two courses, we passed on the desert, and jumped on the bus home!!
We had already been informed that we could have the table for two hours and we had no problem with this, and given it was barbecue weather we had not anticipated it would be rammed. We had a drink as we scanned the menu and then were approached by the maitre d' for our orders.
Now they had two on during the afternoon, and the grumpy one looked like Greg Wallace from MasterChef , iIt was he who took the order. SWMBO selected the roast beef, and luckily we knew it came rare, but 'Greg' failed to ask how we wanted it, we mentioned it to the waiter when we sat down and it was presented medium no problem.
We are also regular enough to know the service can be a bit brisk, so we asked 'Greg' if we could have a good 15-20 minute break between courses. This was greeted with a ' I'll ask the chef' ' in a manner that suggested eating a three course meal in half an hour was one of the attractions of the establishment.
So caveat emptor, if you are going to the manor for the first time.
Now onto the food and service. All of it was very enjoyable. We had the black pudding as one starter, and the terrine of ham hock as the other. The bread was a bit doughy with the pate, but other than that it was fine. The mains were aforesaid Sunday roast beef and trimmings, and I had a shank of lamb which was very pleasant. We had two bottles of Viognier through the meal, and without the break between courses we may have only had one, so there is a good reason to allow people to pace their eating, you can sell more wine!
The waiting on staff are mostly young people dressed impeccably in French style white shirt and black apron, and the other maitre d' was very pleasant and polite. we even found out they have just opened a new restaurant in West Kirby, called Milan, on the site of the previously named Green Room. we will give that a try.
The meal was £13.95 for two courses, we passed on the desert, and jumped on the bus home!!
Friday 10 June 2011
Liverpool Community College
Its a bit off piste, but the way I was treated here last night, they deserve a bit of publicity. Trouble is SWMBO just wanted this best kept secret to stay that way.
Like many catering and beauty treatment colleges, Liverpool Community likes to try out on joe public from time to time. So last night I found myself along with about 30 other people sitting in a small dining room in the college campus not far from Chinatown and Liverpool 1.
There is a bar selling bottled beer, spirits and wine, and the house red Rioja was very passable. Last night the theme was the four nations, so the starters were Cumberland sausage and black pudding, Irish shrimp salad or leek and potato soup. This was followed by scotch salmon and the mains were steak and ale pie, Welsh lamb, Irish pork or fish and chips, with mushy peas. A composite of deserts finished off the evening. They were bramley apple pie, strawberries with victoria sponge and egg custard tart. All for £18 per head plus drinks, it was excellent quality and a bargain.
I enquired of the maitre de, who is a lecturer at the college, how it all works as I was surprised the waiting on team were all fairly mature students. They have a wide range of age groups working the restaurant at different times,he said, and there are five kitchens in the college, all backing a commercial enterprise, be it a bakery or a lunchtime snack bar. People are retraining after losing their jobs, or choosing a different career move.
The chef, also salaried, then took me into the kitchens to show me how he worked with the students. One of them was off to specialise in corporate hospitality, others choose, to be chef's or menu planners. The one poor chap serving us the lamb was on his first night of silver service and struggled a bit with the delivery, but at least he was giving it a bash.
Claire Lara, the professional masterchef winner, is an alumna of the college and cooked in the restaurant as a thankyou a few weeks ago. She is about to open her own restaurant , La Mouette, in the Royal Hilbre Hotel in Hoylake, shortly. I am sure it will feature here in due course. She is looking to give Fraiche a bit of Michellin competition in the area. SWMBO attended the Chinese night last month and by all accounts it was fab.
Wirral Community College also has a student run restaurant at its Conway Park campus in Birkenhead, called The Birches, so that's another to be looking at next term.
Like many catering and beauty treatment colleges, Liverpool Community likes to try out on joe public from time to time. So last night I found myself along with about 30 other people sitting in a small dining room in the college campus not far from Chinatown and Liverpool 1.
There is a bar selling bottled beer, spirits and wine, and the house red Rioja was very passable. Last night the theme was the four nations, so the starters were Cumberland sausage and black pudding, Irish shrimp salad or leek and potato soup. This was followed by scotch salmon and the mains were steak and ale pie, Welsh lamb, Irish pork or fish and chips, with mushy peas. A composite of deserts finished off the evening. They were bramley apple pie, strawberries with victoria sponge and egg custard tart. All for £18 per head plus drinks, it was excellent quality and a bargain.
I enquired of the maitre de, who is a lecturer at the college, how it all works as I was surprised the waiting on team were all fairly mature students. They have a wide range of age groups working the restaurant at different times,he said, and there are five kitchens in the college, all backing a commercial enterprise, be it a bakery or a lunchtime snack bar. People are retraining after losing their jobs, or choosing a different career move.
The chef, also salaried, then took me into the kitchens to show me how he worked with the students. One of them was off to specialise in corporate hospitality, others choose, to be chef's or menu planners. The one poor chap serving us the lamb was on his first night of silver service and struggled a bit with the delivery, but at least he was giving it a bash.
Claire Lara, the professional masterchef winner, is an alumna of the college and cooked in the restaurant as a thankyou a few weeks ago. She is about to open her own restaurant , La Mouette, in the Royal Hilbre Hotel in Hoylake, shortly. I am sure it will feature here in due course. She is looking to give Fraiche a bit of Michellin competition in the area. SWMBO attended the Chinese night last month and by all accounts it was fab.
Wirral Community College also has a student run restaurant at its Conway Park campus in Birkenhead, called The Birches, so that's another to be looking at next term.
Monday 6 June 2011
Oxton Bar and Terrace
Sounds quite grand doesn't it. It is a bar, but the terrace is really a patio beer garden clawed back from the car park and bordering the main road through the village. It does give the smokers somewhere to go though.
The OBT, as it is called by the trendy locals who frequent the place, is a late night must be seen sort of place in the middle of Oxton. In its former life it was originally the Talbot Arms, however, nothing remains of that establishment or the parade of shops it was part of. It was rebuilt and renames the Talbot Hotel and then the Oxton Arms, before the latest owners renamed it yet again and restyled it to fit more with the bohemian lifestyle which is Oxton.
The clientele are wide and varied in age, looks and ego's, but it does a fair pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord so I am fine when I go in there.
Its best to eat early in here for two reasons, the availability of tables, and the fact that the cocktail crowd can be fairly noisy as their tipple of choice takes hold.
The food we had when we tried it last week was very good quality pub grub. The fish and chips were substantial, and the batter crisp, the steak was cooked as required, and everything else that it came with was fine. The prices were reasonable, so no problem recommending it for anybody looking for a night out in Oxton. if you want to do the 2am close as well then good for you.
The place has a waitressing policy for food and drink so once we had the table, we were kept well oiled with drinks until we decided to 'make our excuses and leave'.
So a place which has had its fair share of critics in the past, but with good food, attentive waitresses and mean cocktail waiters, I would give it a go.
The OBT, as it is called by the trendy locals who frequent the place, is a late night must be seen sort of place in the middle of Oxton. In its former life it was originally the Talbot Arms, however, nothing remains of that establishment or the parade of shops it was part of. It was rebuilt and renames the Talbot Hotel and then the Oxton Arms, before the latest owners renamed it yet again and restyled it to fit more with the bohemian lifestyle which is Oxton.
The clientele are wide and varied in age, looks and ego's, but it does a fair pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord so I am fine when I go in there.
Its best to eat early in here for two reasons, the availability of tables, and the fact that the cocktail crowd can be fairly noisy as their tipple of choice takes hold.
The food we had when we tried it last week was very good quality pub grub. The fish and chips were substantial, and the batter crisp, the steak was cooked as required, and everything else that it came with was fine. The prices were reasonable, so no problem recommending it for anybody looking for a night out in Oxton. if you want to do the 2am close as well then good for you.
The place has a waitressing policy for food and drink so once we had the table, we were kept well oiled with drinks until we decided to 'make our excuses and leave'.
So a place which has had its fair share of critics in the past, but with good food, attentive waitresses and mean cocktail waiters, I would give it a go.
Wednesday 4 May 2011
Halligans
An off the cuff decision took us to Halligans last week, ahead of the Royal Wedding. The unit was previously called Bamboo and the chef still has connections with the previous venue.
The restaurant is laid out over two floors, although the upstairs is only used when really busy, and the night we went it was comfortable, so we were seated near the window downstairs, affording me a view for a change, as the Oxton society passed by the window going hither and thither.
We got stuck into a bottle of Chardonnay and then the meal itself. I had scallops to start , accompanied with asparagus and crisped palma ham, SWMBO had the chicken liver pate. This comes in its own preserves type pot with door stop toasted bread slices. All was very tasty.
For the main course I selected the roast belly pork, and the other half had a a very good braised daube of beef. Both were served with a selection of vegetables and potatoes. The veg included red cabbage, a choice which only seems to be available in restaurants....who does eat red cabbage at home?
All in all it was very pleasant, and the fixed price menu at £12.50 is very reasonable ( scallops were extra though). The staff are always very friendly, so the only criticism was the speed of service. No it was not slow, quite the opposite. We booked for 8pm, nobody arrived after us, and we were almost last out of the door at 9;15ish. It was our fault for not asking for a break between courses, something we always try to do, but it still felt a bit like they wanted to be done so they could shut early. So remember to ask for that breathing space when you go.
Lucky we did not have cheese really.
The restaurant is laid out over two floors, although the upstairs is only used when really busy, and the night we went it was comfortable, so we were seated near the window downstairs, affording me a view for a change, as the Oxton society passed by the window going hither and thither.
We got stuck into a bottle of Chardonnay and then the meal itself. I had scallops to start , accompanied with asparagus and crisped palma ham, SWMBO had the chicken liver pate. This comes in its own preserves type pot with door stop toasted bread slices. All was very tasty.
For the main course I selected the roast belly pork, and the other half had a a very good braised daube of beef. Both were served with a selection of vegetables and potatoes. The veg included red cabbage, a choice which only seems to be available in restaurants....who does eat red cabbage at home?
All in all it was very pleasant, and the fixed price menu at £12.50 is very reasonable ( scallops were extra though). The staff are always very friendly, so the only criticism was the speed of service. No it was not slow, quite the opposite. We booked for 8pm, nobody arrived after us, and we were almost last out of the door at 9;15ish. It was our fault for not asking for a break between courses, something we always try to do, but it still felt a bit like they wanted to be done so they could shut early. So remember to ask for that breathing space when you go.
Lucky we did not have cheese really.
Saturday 23 April 2011
Fraiche
Last Saturday we went to worship at the alter which is the food heaven of Marc 'Pierre' Wilkinson. The restaurant is tucked into a small parade of shops in Oxton, with a chip shop one side and a double unit tapas bar , the Courtyard, next door.
I don't think I have ever been to a one star Michelin restaurant before, although I may have been in Rome or Paris without realising it, so I was intrigued to see what makes a restaurant that special.
The venue limits covers to ten, so as well as our party of four there were two couples in. One were being treated as a wedding present, the others were 'regulars' as they continued to point out to anybody who would listen. More about them later.
We were served all night by two delightful waitresses who explained the construction of each course in precise detail. And what a menu we had. We started with roasted almonds, were treated to a leaf of watercress with champagne oyster sauce. Then followed carrot soup with a mint froth, celeriac with fois grois and a hens egg. and a selection of breads. The main was Gressington duck followed by the cheese board and finally roasted pineapple. It was all extremely yummy, and lived up to the £55 price tag, and the one star rating.
We accompanied the meal with a bottle of Mud House Sauvignon Blanc which was great and a bottle of Chateau Musar Gaston Hochar 2000 from Lebanon. It was here that the first crack in the operation showed itself. The bottle we were offered was corked, although only just. The waitress had to take advise from the chef before it was changed. That should not have happened, and what would have developed if he had disagreed? We were then offered a 1999 vintage as the second bottle with no explanation why, and finally, I got all the sediment in the final glass, after which the waitress said, ah, I think I should have decanted this wine!! Yes, love, you should have .
We did not let a dodgy bottle of red spoil the evening and we all agreed we would go back if the right occasion presented itself.
What happened next, however, would have cost the chef his star if it was anything to do with me. Previously mentioned self important couple indicated to the waitress that as they were regulars they would like to say hello to Marc. Out he came to talk to them about how he chats to other top chefs around Europe as he strives for a second star in a such a small premises. What he did not do is acknowledge the table of four punters who were right behind him. How difficult is it to say 'hello, was everything to your liking' as he passed?
Now he may think that being in the Gordon Ramsay school of rude, arrogant chefs is the way to get on, but it did him no favours on Saturday.
I don't think I have ever been to a one star Michelin restaurant before, although I may have been in Rome or Paris without realising it, so I was intrigued to see what makes a restaurant that special.
The venue limits covers to ten, so as well as our party of four there were two couples in. One were being treated as a wedding present, the others were 'regulars' as they continued to point out to anybody who would listen. More about them later.
We were served all night by two delightful waitresses who explained the construction of each course in precise detail. And what a menu we had. We started with roasted almonds, were treated to a leaf of watercress with champagne oyster sauce. Then followed carrot soup with a mint froth, celeriac with fois grois and a hens egg. and a selection of breads. The main was Gressington duck followed by the cheese board and finally roasted pineapple. It was all extremely yummy, and lived up to the £55 price tag, and the one star rating.
We accompanied the meal with a bottle of Mud House Sauvignon Blanc which was great and a bottle of Chateau Musar Gaston Hochar 2000 from Lebanon. It was here that the first crack in the operation showed itself. The bottle we were offered was corked, although only just. The waitress had to take advise from the chef before it was changed. That should not have happened, and what would have developed if he had disagreed? We were then offered a 1999 vintage as the second bottle with no explanation why, and finally, I got all the sediment in the final glass, after which the waitress said, ah, I think I should have decanted this wine!! Yes, love, you should have .
We did not let a dodgy bottle of red spoil the evening and we all agreed we would go back if the right occasion presented itself.
What happened next, however, would have cost the chef his star if it was anything to do with me. Previously mentioned self important couple indicated to the waitress that as they were regulars they would like to say hello to Marc. Out he came to talk to them about how he chats to other top chefs around Europe as he strives for a second star in a such a small premises. What he did not do is acknowledge the table of four punters who were right behind him. How difficult is it to say 'hello, was everything to your liking' as he passed?
Now he may think that being in the Gordon Ramsay school of rude, arrogant chefs is the way to get on, but it did him no favours on Saturday.
Thursday 21 April 2011
Da Piero
Well we don't get out much do we, first restaurant review for ages.......
Friday saw us visit this Italian restaurant in the heart of Irby, along with some work colleague and a couple of friends. The restaurant is well thought of locally, and has two knives and forks in the 2011 Michelin guide.
It has about twenty covers, making it cosy, and the decor is a bit '50s. There is also talk of them taking over the unit next door and expanding so it will be interesting to see how that changes the look and feel of the place.
Now onto the food. The four of us on our table had a wide choice of dishes. I had crayfish tails to start, the others had Pepata di cozza, a clam based dish, then we had seabass, an ossobuco and meatballs. The ossbuco is a traditional Sicillian dish and looked excellent. The mains all came with puy lentils, chopped saute potatoes and mixed veg. I sometimes find seabass a bit bland but this just about stood the flavour test, I suspect it was farmed though. That said, we all agreed it as very pleasant and it negated the need for a pud!!
The wine was provided in the price of our deal, and was fine, although I would not know what it was....
So all in all a good forage into the unknown and a venue we will return to. Ambiance is all important in Italian restaurants and the small floor area might stifle that if too many food trendies were booked in.
Dawn and her staff were very attentive and were good enough to e-mail us in the week to thank us for our service. Maybe the other Michelin restaurant on the Wirral could learn a bit from Da Piero
A brief word too for the pub over the road, the Shippons, where the guv'nor was very welcoming and resigned to his punters regularly going over the road, when he served food himself. We might try that one day ..
Friday saw us visit this Italian restaurant in the heart of Irby, along with some work colleague and a couple of friends. The restaurant is well thought of locally, and has two knives and forks in the 2011 Michelin guide.
It has about twenty covers, making it cosy, and the decor is a bit '50s. There is also talk of them taking over the unit next door and expanding so it will be interesting to see how that changes the look and feel of the place.
Now onto the food. The four of us on our table had a wide choice of dishes. I had crayfish tails to start, the others had Pepata di cozza, a clam based dish, then we had seabass, an ossobuco and meatballs. The ossbuco is a traditional Sicillian dish and looked excellent. The mains all came with puy lentils, chopped saute potatoes and mixed veg. I sometimes find seabass a bit bland but this just about stood the flavour test, I suspect it was farmed though. That said, we all agreed it as very pleasant and it negated the need for a pud!!
The wine was provided in the price of our deal, and was fine, although I would not know what it was....
So all in all a good forage into the unknown and a venue we will return to. Ambiance is all important in Italian restaurants and the small floor area might stifle that if too many food trendies were booked in.
Dawn and her staff were very attentive and were good enough to e-mail us in the week to thank us for our service. Maybe the other Michelin restaurant on the Wirral could learn a bit from Da Piero
A brief word too for the pub over the road, the Shippons, where the guv'nor was very welcoming and resigned to his punters regularly going over the road, when he served food himself. We might try that one day ..
Thursday 10 March 2011
Tasting menu's
Not really a restaurant review, or linked to the Wirral, but at the weekend we stayed in a country house hotel in the North pennines, and part of the deal was to take their seven course gastronomique extravaganza on the Sunday night.
It was billed as a tasting menu, and as such there were no choices. what you got was what you got. Now I could not fault the food, except for the last course, rhubarb and stuff. I do not like rhubarb, and neither it appeared did the majority of our fellow diners. That aside though, the menu included smoked duck, parsnip soup and venison cooked pink and was very tasty.
It is an interesting assumption to make though that what the chef wants to cook is what the punters want to eat. In this case it worked, but watch this space as tasting menus become more popular, and we visit a few restaurants that do them.
It was billed as a tasting menu, and as such there were no choices. what you got was what you got. Now I could not fault the food, except for the last course, rhubarb and stuff. I do not like rhubarb, and neither it appeared did the majority of our fellow diners. That aside though, the menu included smoked duck, parsnip soup and venison cooked pink and was very tasty.
It is an interesting assumption to make though that what the chef wants to cook is what the punters want to eat. In this case it worked, but watch this space as tasting menus become more popular, and we visit a few restaurants that do them.
Friday 28 January 2011
The Queens Arms
When we moved into Oxton, a urban village just outside Birkenhead, almost ten years ago, there were four restaurants and two pubs here. The restaurants were The Bamboo, a thai come oriental, Villa Jazz, a double unit traditional restaurant doing lamb shank, ribs and steaks, a mad Italian and Beedles.
Beedles was run by a husband and wife, he ran front of house and she ran the kitchen. The property was owned by her mother, there was a row and she sold from under them. its a fish and chip shop now. Bamboo closed after the couple who ran that had a bust up, although the lady of the relationship has opened a new outlet in the same unit, Halligan's, which will be reviewed in due course.
Villa Jazz closed amidst a cloud of urban myths, and nobody quite knows the ins and outs of it, but it is being redeveloped and should open during 2011 as a new bar and grill.
The mad Italian just had enough of turning people away when he did not fancy the cut of their jib. He shut at 9pm, which meant you were out at 9pm so it was a very eccentric operation. It is now a Michelin starred restaurant and we have a booking for April, when you can read our reviews here then.
The two pubs, the Shrewsbury Arms and the Oxton Bar and Grill (OBT for short) have stood the test of time and have been established in the area since the mid-1800's. Both do food, but it was a third pub which we chose to visit and review this week.
The Queens Arms sits on Storeton Road, between the Halfway House in Prenton, and Oxton village. It has been a pub since 1845 and has changed little in external appearance, although it has become a modern wood and chrome place inside.
The reason for the visit though was to test the increasing reputation it has for its bar food. The new owner was fortunate enough to employ the services of a chef from each of the Villa Jazz and Bamboo, so although the food is pretty standard pub grub, it is turned out to a high standard, cooked to order and does not have the microwave packaged appearance of the Hungry Horse or Country Fayre type catering.
Our steak pie and fish and chips were first rate, and as Thursday was curry night, the neighbouring tables which had selected those seemed very pleased with the result. We washed ours down with draft Courage Best, although there was an adequate wine list should we have been so inclined. Mains were priced at about £7 for 'pub grub' up to £12 for steaks and mixed grills, the curries were £8.
The place was pretty full and most people were eating, we shall definitely be going back. As for the waitresses, would they know the offside law? would they care? probably not. They were very helpful and pleasant, and just what you need from a serving wench. The only thing that bugs me, and it's a general criticism of busy pubs, is that the staff keep saying 'who is next please?' instead of having the wherewithal to spot the punters as they get to the bar. A good skill to have and one which makes all the difference on the punters side of the bar.
Beedles was run by a husband and wife, he ran front of house and she ran the kitchen. The property was owned by her mother, there was a row and she sold from under them. its a fish and chip shop now. Bamboo closed after the couple who ran that had a bust up, although the lady of the relationship has opened a new outlet in the same unit, Halligan's, which will be reviewed in due course.
Villa Jazz closed amidst a cloud of urban myths, and nobody quite knows the ins and outs of it, but it is being redeveloped and should open during 2011 as a new bar and grill.
The mad Italian just had enough of turning people away when he did not fancy the cut of their jib. He shut at 9pm, which meant you were out at 9pm so it was a very eccentric operation. It is now a Michelin starred restaurant and we have a booking for April, when you can read our reviews here then.
The two pubs, the Shrewsbury Arms and the Oxton Bar and Grill (OBT for short) have stood the test of time and have been established in the area since the mid-1800's. Both do food, but it was a third pub which we chose to visit and review this week.
The Queens Arms sits on Storeton Road, between the Halfway House in Prenton, and Oxton village. It has been a pub since 1845 and has changed little in external appearance, although it has become a modern wood and chrome place inside.
The reason for the visit though was to test the increasing reputation it has for its bar food. The new owner was fortunate enough to employ the services of a chef from each of the Villa Jazz and Bamboo, so although the food is pretty standard pub grub, it is turned out to a high standard, cooked to order and does not have the microwave packaged appearance of the Hungry Horse or Country Fayre type catering.
Our steak pie and fish and chips were first rate, and as Thursday was curry night, the neighbouring tables which had selected those seemed very pleased with the result. We washed ours down with draft Courage Best, although there was an adequate wine list should we have been so inclined. Mains were priced at about £7 for 'pub grub' up to £12 for steaks and mixed grills, the curries were £8.
The place was pretty full and most people were eating, we shall definitely be going back. As for the waitresses, would they know the offside law? would they care? probably not. They were very helpful and pleasant, and just what you need from a serving wench. The only thing that bugs me, and it's a general criticism of busy pubs, is that the staff keep saying 'who is next please?' instead of having the wherewithal to spot the punters as they get to the bar. A good skill to have and one which makes all the difference on the punters side of the bar.
Monday 10 January 2011
The Cock and Pullet
Yes, really that is the name of the first establishment the Wirriallian has visited in 2011. I found it hard to believe that's what they called this revamped pub in the heart of Tranmere, but they have!!. It used to be called The Royal, and had been in disrepair for a while.
Rumour had it that a chef/owner from one of the other restaurants in the area had taken it on and was relaunching it as a gastro pub. So why not pop down to see.
Well, that rumour was clearly unfounded as we entered the 'parlour'. The unit has one bar, with a large pool table in the original public bar. The lounge bar had been tastefully decorated and festooned with old black and white pictures of the area from the late 1800s hundreds and early 1900s. The floor was newly laid too. imitation leather bench seating hugged the walls and the round traditional pub tables and chairs completed the look. Loud music played from the various speakers perched near the ceiling
It takes a brave man to open a pub which is going to major on wet sales, these days, and one of the problems for a relaunch, is how do you manage the clientele? This pub had previously been a blokes boozer and the current punters continued that stereotype. About ten people hung at the bar watching the racing from the all weather at Wolverhampton, drinking lager and Guinness while occasionally popping out for a roll-up in the porch.
They were all very pleasant, but not the sort the aristocrats and artistic types from Oxton would want to mingle with. That said, the bitter on view was an eclectic mixture of local microbrewery and St Austell from Cornwall so that might tempt a few in.
There seemed to be storehouse or stables outside which could easily embrace a kitchen and some outdoor seating for better climes, so I am going to put this one on the back burner at the moment and see how it gets on during the Spring and early Summer. Hopefully by then the place will be rocking.
Rumour had it that a chef/owner from one of the other restaurants in the area had taken it on and was relaunching it as a gastro pub. So why not pop down to see.
Well, that rumour was clearly unfounded as we entered the 'parlour'. The unit has one bar, with a large pool table in the original public bar. The lounge bar had been tastefully decorated and festooned with old black and white pictures of the area from the late 1800s hundreds and early 1900s. The floor was newly laid too. imitation leather bench seating hugged the walls and the round traditional pub tables and chairs completed the look. Loud music played from the various speakers perched near the ceiling
It takes a brave man to open a pub which is going to major on wet sales, these days, and one of the problems for a relaunch, is how do you manage the clientele? This pub had previously been a blokes boozer and the current punters continued that stereotype. About ten people hung at the bar watching the racing from the all weather at Wolverhampton, drinking lager and Guinness while occasionally popping out for a roll-up in the porch.
They were all very pleasant, but not the sort the aristocrats and artistic types from Oxton would want to mingle with. That said, the bitter on view was an eclectic mixture of local microbrewery and St Austell from Cornwall so that might tempt a few in.
There seemed to be storehouse or stables outside which could easily embrace a kitchen and some outdoor seating for better climes, so I am going to put this one on the back burner at the moment and see how it gets on during the Spring and early Summer. Hopefully by then the place will be rocking.
Saturday 1 January 2011
2011, food heaven.....
It really is frustrating trying to find sensible constructive comments about restaurants by searching on the Web. One is never sure whether the owner is posting, or whether you only get to hear about the one or two bad experiences, and rarely about the good times.
A lot of basic information seems to be missing as well. Can you park, is it on a bus route, and if so, which one? What are the staff like? Is it a 'regulars' place and do they make you feel like one? Is it child and dog friendly, and should, therefore, be avoided by the dinkies and grey pounders amongst us?
So, I am going to try to be a restaurant critic for the Wirral, and see if I can produce a useful web site based on my experience of restaurants, take-aways and pub grub. I am not a foodie, or a wino, so don't expect specialist comment on here. It's really about whether I like somewhere and more important whether it likes me.
I could start with a few reviews of the regular outlets I use , but I won't. I am going to slip those into the Blog as it starts to get established. So watch this space, I will try to do a unit a week, and see whether I develop a following and see some of the comments I get.
If people do not like what I say or have a different view of a place, it could get lively, bring on the starters!!!!
A lot of basic information seems to be missing as well. Can you park, is it on a bus route, and if so, which one? What are the staff like? Is it a 'regulars' place and do they make you feel like one? Is it child and dog friendly, and should, therefore, be avoided by the dinkies and grey pounders amongst us?
So, I am going to try to be a restaurant critic for the Wirral, and see if I can produce a useful web site based on my experience of restaurants, take-aways and pub grub. I am not a foodie, or a wino, so don't expect specialist comment on here. It's really about whether I like somewhere and more important whether it likes me.
I could start with a few reviews of the regular outlets I use , but I won't. I am going to slip those into the Blog as it starts to get established. So watch this space, I will try to do a unit a week, and see whether I develop a following and see some of the comments I get.
If people do not like what I say or have a different view of a place, it could get lively, bring on the starters!!!!
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