Well I have just returned from a very pleasant evening at Felicini's where I have to say I really enjoyed myself. As soon as I walked into the restaurant I felt that I was likely to feel comfortable and relaxed and have a good time and indeed I wasn't disappointed. In my opinion the service was very efficient, prompt but allowing time us time to decide and the choice of food was excellent. The only downside for me was the slightly pricey wine and lack of desserts that didn't contain dairy but having said that eating dessert would have just made me greedy and would have added to the bill.
I feel that the WREC has truly got into its stride now, we have a wine connoisseur (not sure which diner no. he is) but this is proving to be the easiest and most successful option when deciding what wine to have with the meal. Despite my misgivings I think that once again the WREC will be going backwards down the Wilmslow road to sample food from another 'highly recommended' restaurant but bearing in mind that one of the reasons for starting the group was to make sure that we got out at least once a month, what the hell as long as we're eating and away from children, does it really matter that we're not storming our way in a northerly direction up the Wilmslow road?
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Monday, 1 December 2008
Fat Loaf or not?
I have to say I'm most tempted as well by a fine looking menu. However as one of the past ringleaders in persuading us all to take a step back to Loch Fyne (for the first eventful visit) I'll keep out of this debate and go with the flow.
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Monday, 24 November 2008
The Fat Loaf dilemma
Yes my friends, once again new developments are threatening to derail the WREC project! We note the imminent arrival of the newest branch of Fat Loaf, a restaurant that has already taken 'em by storm in Altrincham and Sale ! As if in mockery, they have chosen to open in the very next unit to Loch Fyne, well behind the onward march of WREC progress that has temporarily stalled at the Laughing Buddha (and even that's undergoing a refurb...). My own view of these places is that you have to sample them while they are new, so you can impress all your friends with how up to date you are, and spread the good (or bad) word to the wider community. I'd be in favour of demonstrating that progress isn't in fact halted by having a pre-Xmas beano at Felicini's, then book in for Fat Loaf to brighten up the dark days of January. I know this view may not be shared among all WREC members and look forward to the coming debate!
Saturday, 15 November 2008
Loch Fyne - Part 2
Agreed - I'm not a big fan of seafood but the service was very good (second time round) and on the 'right night' this a clearly a great place to go for seafood lovers!
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Looking back on Loch Fyne
Our experience has already been well documented in previous postings. Looking back on it all, what stands out for me now is the sheer quality of the food - really tasty and well prepared. But I'd still be a bit nervous about the service if we went back....
Saturday, 18 October 2008
The return to Loch Fyne
As my fellow diner 6 has already said the return visit to the Loch Fyne was 100 times better than the first visit, although it really wouldn't have been that hard to improve on what was truly a terrible experience the first time round. The staff and manager were extremely attentive and we were very much aware that we were being given the VIP treatment which leaves me still wondering what you get when your just a 'normal' customer. What was pleasing to see is that changes had clearly been made, especially to the menu, which now offers a greater selection for non-fish lovers, but unfortunately disappointed our fish cake loving diner.
The hot and cold lobster platter was, as expected, extremely delicious and gives the diner the opportunity to sample a wide variety of shell fish all in one dish. There is however, something not quite right about eating such delicious shell fish in a restaurant in Didsbury on a wet Wednesday evening; food like this can only really be appreciated when sat in warm sunshine preferably with the smell of sea in the air or sat by the Loch itself.
As for our quest to eat our way down the Wilmslow road, I feel that going backwards has frustrated our efforts and now I'm pleased that we will be going forwards again so that we can start to feel that we're making a 'dent' in the long list of restaurants. There will be a slight hiatus in our quest whilst one of our diners treks to Everest Base camp but then come December we'll hopefully be back on track.
The hot and cold lobster platter was, as expected, extremely delicious and gives the diner the opportunity to sample a wide variety of shell fish all in one dish. There is however, something not quite right about eating such delicious shell fish in a restaurant in Didsbury on a wet Wednesday evening; food like this can only really be appreciated when sat in warm sunshine preferably with the smell of sea in the air or sat by the Loch itself.
As for our quest to eat our way down the Wilmslow road, I feel that going backwards has frustrated our efforts and now I'm pleased that we will be going forwards again so that we can start to feel that we're making a 'dent' in the long list of restaurants. There will be a slight hiatus in our quest whilst one of our diners treks to Everest Base camp but then come December we'll hopefully be back on track.
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Loch Fyne
Well the second visit was much better than our first (see other diners comments). To be honest I really wasn't that keen to return after our first disaster and added to that were tales from other friends of poor experiences there.
This time the staff were extremely attentive and (although we did have to ask for extra butter twice!). I liked the position of our table ....I was warm by the window radiator-much better than last time when I was freezing by the cold fish prep area.
I was interested to watch as 4 of our fellow diners dismembered, crunched, slurped and devoured their way through two enormous shell fish platters. I went for a safer option of fish pie with a side order of vegetables and it was really tasty. I was bitterly disappointed that the salmon fish cakes had been taken off the menu since our initial visit but I did enjoy my alternative choice. The rhubarb crumble was delicious too!
It was a good thing that we had £20 per head off the bill as it would have cost over £200 for our meal and drinks-I think this is expensive considering only 4 of the party were drinking, although the fish platters were impressive.
Roll on the next WREC meet.
This time the staff were extremely attentive and (although we did have to ask for extra butter twice!). I liked the position of our table ....I was warm by the window radiator-much better than last time when I was freezing by the cold fish prep area.
I was interested to watch as 4 of our fellow diners dismembered, crunched, slurped and devoured their way through two enormous shell fish platters. I went for a safer option of fish pie with a side order of vegetables and it was really tasty. I was bitterly disappointed that the salmon fish cakes had been taken off the menu since our initial visit but I did enjoy my alternative choice. The rhubarb crumble was delicious too!
It was a good thing that we had £20 per head off the bill as it would have cost over £200 for our meal and drinks-I think this is expensive considering only 4 of the party were drinking, although the fish platters were impressive.
Roll on the next WREC meet.
Monday, 6 October 2008
Loch Fyne - Part 1
Well, I don't want to be one of those annoying people who say 'I told you so' but....(and yes, I am the one not keen on fish and my visit to the Loch Fyne did not pursuade me to think otherwise).
The evening started off quite well with our waiter joining in with some good early banter although he did struggle with remembering the butter for the bread on the table...by the time he finally remembered to deliver said butter 'the starving six' had already polished off the dry bread on offer.
About an hour or so later we had finally been provided with our starters (the only non-fish option on the menu had run out so I was left with the pate or yet more dry bread)...no mussels as well which did not bother me personally but my fellow guests were more disappointed.
To cut a long story short, and despite ordering our main course by around 9.30ish, the non-arrival by 10.40 or so meant we decided enough was enough and the Battered Cod beckoned! Unfortunately our waiter trying to suggest our wait wasn't that 'unusual' and other guests that evening had had to wait over 1 1/2 hours for their main course was a little irritating to say the least...a somewhat strange strategy to appease his disgruntled customers and wishing they may some day wish to return!!!?
To be fair to LF, after one of the diners personally complained the next day, we received a good apology email and an offer of a £20 per person discount next time (which will at least cover my £17 medium rare sirloin steak I had ordered)...I am sure things will be better next time although hearing this weekend from one of our friends that our evening was not too dissimilar to their own experience was a little worying (and even a second free visit for them apologising for their first disastrous evening was not much better either..."service is slow" appears to be a motto based on the personal experiences I have heard so far)...but let's see what Part 2 has to offer -coming to a Blog near you soon!
The evening started off quite well with our waiter joining in with some good early banter although he did struggle with remembering the butter for the bread on the table...by the time he finally remembered to deliver said butter 'the starving six' had already polished off the dry bread on offer.
About an hour or so later we had finally been provided with our starters (the only non-fish option on the menu had run out so I was left with the pate or yet more dry bread)...no mussels as well which did not bother me personally but my fellow guests were more disappointed.
To cut a long story short, and despite ordering our main course by around 9.30ish, the non-arrival by 10.40 or so meant we decided enough was enough and the Battered Cod beckoned! Unfortunately our waiter trying to suggest our wait wasn't that 'unusual' and other guests that evening had had to wait over 1 1/2 hours for their main course was a little irritating to say the least...a somewhat strange strategy to appease his disgruntled customers and wishing they may some day wish to return!!!?
To be fair to LF, after one of the diners personally complained the next day, we received a good apology email and an offer of a £20 per person discount next time (which will at least cover my £17 medium rare sirloin steak I had ordered)...I am sure things will be better next time although hearing this weekend from one of our friends that our evening was not too dissimilar to their own experience was a little worying (and even a second free visit for them apologising for their first disastrous evening was not much better either..."service is slow" appears to be a motto based on the personal experiences I have heard so far)...but let's see what Part 2 has to offer -coming to a Blog near you soon!
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
The Loch Fyne - the first instalment
Well after a break for the summer the Wrec was back on track, although technically breaking our own rules by going backwards down the Wilmslow road to sample the delights of the Loch Fyne. Two in our party were particularly keen to visit this highly recommended restaurant and so dragging along a reluctant diner, who doesn't eat fish, we booked our table for 6 for 8.30pm.
Diner 2 has summed up the night well and I too was mainly left with a feeling of disappointment. I do feel (and hope) that our experience was a one off and am looking forward to our second visit to hopefully put right what was the worse visit to a restaurant that I've ever had.
Diner 2 has summed up the night well and I too was mainly left with a feeling of disappointment. I do feel (and hope) that our experience was a one off and am looking forward to our second visit to hopefully put right what was the worse visit to a restaurant that I've ever had.
Thursday, 25 September 2008
Loch Fyne - Didsbury, The Saga
Well, where do i start? Maybe i should've known that breaking the cardinal rule of not going back down Wilmslow Road was going to lead to trouble, however, little did i know how much trouble!!
The evening started pleasant enough, arriving at 8.30pm on the dot (times are very relevant as you will see later on). First impressions of this new (2 months or so) restaurant were very favourable, light and airy, giving me that sort of "fish hall" ambiance. Add to this we were sat right next to the "cold" preparation point allowing us a full view of all the fresh fish, lobsters, crabs etc which were on offer i was already raring to order and sample.
Our last two diners joined us at about 8.45pm and i suppose at around 9pm we ordered our food consisting of starters and main course. At this point maybe alarm bells should've started to ring when the waiter told us they had already run out of mussels and the duck starter, which 3 of us were going to have, which seemed very strange. Anyway with slight amendments our order was taken with myself opting for salt and pepper Cornish squid with a sweet chili sauce to start and Goan fish curry for main and we waited........and waited.
At approx 9.40pm our starters arrived, very well presented and tasty, although not a lot of it but none the less reasonable. I suppose it was during this time we started to get some inkling of the disarray that was about to ensue with waiters and manager standing at the aforementioned "cold"preparation point seemingly arguing over which table had been waiting longest for their food. We certainly observed one of the very delicious looking platters consisting of many varieties of shellfish being prepared, obviously for one of the tables, and being left unattended for at least half an hour before it went anywhere!!
Two bottles of wine later and round about 10.10pm or so the waiter stood next to our table and stated "I've just checked on your food and it will be about 2 or 3 minutes" which, if ever there were some famous last words, those were them.
To describe the last half an hour or so we spent at Loch Fyne would probably stop most, if not all, of you out there from setting foot inside. At approx 10.45pm we had a visit from the manager who explained to us, and i didn't catch most of it due to some other disaster that was happening at the same time but more of that later, that our main course was still 5 or 10 minutes away (bearing in mind this was now 10.45ish) and that they had been very busy etc etc.
So basically with childminders bills increasing by the hour we had to call it a day and reluctantly paid for what we had manged to sample so far and left. I will leave the finer details of how my other diners felt to them but safe to say i left, not feeling angry, but very surprised, bemused as to how a restaurant, on a Wednesday evening, could get things so wrong but mostly very very let down as i had high hopes for Loch Fyne and was so looking forward to sampling the menu.
So now you've got a vague idea of how i was feeling at this point i now want you to double this as during the fiasco i was also getting minute by minute texts updating me on the sorry state of affairs that was City's attempt at beating a league 1 club in the mickey mouse Carling cup, or not as it turned out, although at least that seemed to cheer up my fellow diners somewhat so a little good came out of this sorry saga.
Not a happy night then to be honest
P.S - Maybe not a happy night then but i feel it could be looking up for Loch Fyne. One of our fellow diners contacted them with the details of our curtailed evening and associated problems and to their credit have invited us back with a very generous discount off the bill. So hold fire on cancelling your bookings it could all change............watch this space!
Well, where do i start? Maybe i should've known that breaking the cardinal rule of not going back down Wilmslow Road was going to lead to trouble, however, little did i know how much trouble!!
The evening started pleasant enough, arriving at 8.30pm on the dot (times are very relevant as you will see later on). First impressions of this new (2 months or so) restaurant were very favourable, light and airy, giving me that sort of "fish hall" ambiance. Add to this we were sat right next to the "cold" preparation point allowing us a full view of all the fresh fish, lobsters, crabs etc which were on offer i was already raring to order and sample.
Our last two diners joined us at about 8.45pm and i suppose at around 9pm we ordered our food consisting of starters and main course. At this point maybe alarm bells should've started to ring when the waiter told us they had already run out of mussels and the duck starter, which 3 of us were going to have, which seemed very strange. Anyway with slight amendments our order was taken with myself opting for salt and pepper Cornish squid with a sweet chili sauce to start and Goan fish curry for main and we waited........and waited.
At approx 9.40pm our starters arrived, very well presented and tasty, although not a lot of it but none the less reasonable. I suppose it was during this time we started to get some inkling of the disarray that was about to ensue with waiters and manager standing at the aforementioned "cold"preparation point seemingly arguing over which table had been waiting longest for their food. We certainly observed one of the very delicious looking platters consisting of many varieties of shellfish being prepared, obviously for one of the tables, and being left unattended for at least half an hour before it went anywhere!!
Two bottles of wine later and round about 10.10pm or so the waiter stood next to our table and stated "I've just checked on your food and it will be about 2 or 3 minutes" which, if ever there were some famous last words, those were them.
To describe the last half an hour or so we spent at Loch Fyne would probably stop most, if not all, of you out there from setting foot inside. At approx 10.45pm we had a visit from the manager who explained to us, and i didn't catch most of it due to some other disaster that was happening at the same time but more of that later, that our main course was still 5 or 10 minutes away (bearing in mind this was now 10.45ish) and that they had been very busy etc etc.
So basically with childminders bills increasing by the hour we had to call it a day and reluctantly paid for what we had manged to sample so far and left. I will leave the finer details of how my other diners felt to them but safe to say i left, not feeling angry, but very surprised, bemused as to how a restaurant, on a Wednesday evening, could get things so wrong but mostly very very let down as i had high hopes for Loch Fyne and was so looking forward to sampling the menu.
So now you've got a vague idea of how i was feeling at this point i now want you to double this as during the fiasco i was also getting minute by minute texts updating me on the sorry state of affairs that was City's attempt at beating a league 1 club in the mickey mouse Carling cup, or not as it turned out, although at least that seemed to cheer up my fellow diners somewhat so a little good came out of this sorry saga.
Not a happy night then to be honest
P.S - Maybe not a happy night then but i feel it could be looking up for Loch Fyne. One of our fellow diners contacted them with the details of our curtailed evening and associated problems and to their credit have invited us back with a very generous discount off the bill. So hold fire on cancelling your bookings it could all change............watch this space!
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Diner 3 returns - The Laughing Buddha
Over 2 months on, I can remember very little of the night out or food other than this was the best restaurant so far but I am reliably informed by Diner 5 that the LB has since closed 'for refurbishment' - nothing we said, I hope...
PS. I have now run out of petrol as I am refusing to top up the transfer kitty of one of our Premiership rivals!!!
PS. I have now run out of petrol as I am refusing to top up the transfer kitty of one of our Premiership rivals!!!
Thursday, 4 September 2008
The Laughing Buddha........if i can remember that far back!
Well I've been very lazy and its only now, after holidays and kids summer break, I've got round to talking about the Laughing Buddha although i confess its been so long i fail to remember every detail, well OK i can't actually remember any of the details of most of the meal but it must have stuck in my mind as i know I can definitely recommend a visit.
Through the haze i can remember i was most surprised with regards the detail of the menu. I assumed it was going to be mainly Thai based but was pleasantly surprised to find myself taking forever over my choice because the food ranged from most corners of the world. I seem to remember some lovely stir fry squid dish but sadly not much more.
Without sounding like I'm being paid a retainer for the Laughing Buddha get yourself down there and sample it for yourselves............whatever it was they had to offer.
P.S Don't forget every litre of petrol you put in your tank you fill City's transfer kitty..............get in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well I've been very lazy and its only now, after holidays and kids summer break, I've got round to talking about the Laughing Buddha although i confess its been so long i fail to remember every detail, well OK i can't actually remember any of the details of most of the meal but it must have stuck in my mind as i know I can definitely recommend a visit.
Through the haze i can remember i was most surprised with regards the detail of the menu. I assumed it was going to be mainly Thai based but was pleasantly surprised to find myself taking forever over my choice because the food ranged from most corners of the world. I seem to remember some lovely stir fry squid dish but sadly not much more.
Without sounding like I'm being paid a retainer for the Laughing Buddha get yourself down there and sample it for yourselves............whatever it was they had to offer.
P.S Don't forget every litre of petrol you put in your tank you fill City's transfer kitty..............get in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Best food yet!
I enjoyed the food at the Laughing Buddah - best meal with WREC yet. The menu was pan-Asian which included Thai, Vietnamese but no Chinese or Indian. The menu was huge -overwhelming. I chose the chicken satay as a starter which came with a fantastic peanut sauce. I followed this with duck stuffed with minced prawn - the latter seemed to be a speciality so I was keen to try it. I don't think it added much. Maybe the meal was overpriced but I'd go back.
The decor was modern with an interesting selection of music (not that I remember what was played now).
Our conversation again was interesting taking in the lack of striped pyjamas in the shops, the meaning of the term "forensic" and chance encounters with Steve Coogan.
So no more meals out with WREC until September - though the girls decided to start a pub crawl the other night but failed to shift from the Red Lion!
The decor was modern with an interesting selection of music (not that I remember what was played now).
Our conversation again was interesting taking in the lack of striped pyjamas in the shops, the meaning of the term "forensic" and chance encounters with Steve Coogan.
So no more meals out with WREC until September - though the girls decided to start a pub crawl the other night but failed to shift from the Red Lion!
Monday, 14 July 2008
The Laughing Buddha
Well our third restaurant was the Laughing Buddha http://www.thelaughingbuddhadidsbury.co.uk/ I wasn't sure what to expect from this restaurant but was greatly rewarded with, what for me, has been the best restaurant by far. The choices for starters and main courses was pretty impressive, although for me I find the amount of choice overwhelming and therefore plumped for one of the shared starters. This turned out to be a good choice as there was a good selection of different starters and plenty of it! I now can't remember what I had for the main course but I do remember that I enjoyed it and it was very filling. This is definitely a restaurant that I would recommend, possibly more as a treat as it wasn't one of the cheapest we've visited.
I really feel that we're in the swing of this challenge and feel a little disappointed that we will be taking a break over the summer period when the group members will be jetting off to summer climbs such as Florida, Germany and Northumberland (in a tent!). Back in September.
I really feel that we're in the swing of this challenge and feel a little disappointed that we will be taking a break over the summer period when the group members will be jetting off to summer climbs such as Florida, Germany and Northumberland (in a tent!). Back in September.
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Would you believe it
Well, it's finally happened - Diner 5 joins the crew, having done nothing different IT-wise to what I've been doing for the past month or so. But clearly the Great Blog in the Sky has decided I've paid m'dues, and can now be allowed entry.
I thought it might be good if I could add variety by taking an oblique view of events and report more on the general conversation. But at this interval it's difficult to remember what we talked about. One thing that has stayed in the mind for some reason is the information that there is a woman somewhere in Birmingham who does her ironing wearing only a pair of knickers. This image has sustained me through these long weeks of not being able to blog. However, attempts to persuade...well, perhaps we won't go there or I might find my new-found access sabotaged. Beyond that my mind is pretty much a blank so my real debut will have to await tomorrow's visit to The Laughing Buddha.
I thought it might be good if I could add variety by taking an oblique view of events and report more on the general conversation. But at this interval it's difficult to remember what we talked about. One thing that has stayed in the mind for some reason is the information that there is a woman somewhere in Birmingham who does her ironing wearing only a pair of knickers. This image has sustained me through these long weeks of not being able to blog. However, attempts to persuade...well, perhaps we won't go there or I might find my new-found access sabotaged. Beyond that my mind is pretty much a blank so my real debut will have to await tomorrow's visit to The Laughing Buddha.
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Catch up reviews
As our third outing down the road is imminent I'll give brief reviews of the restaurants already visited.
Sanuk - I made no notes at all but remembered that the decor was quite red and the dishes came with decorative flowers! I enjoyed the discussions on scoring establishments though felt that post-its and flipchart paper would be an advantage next time.
Istanbul Grill - I was more on the ball this time and made notes the same evening. All the WREC were present and so we were able to go through the scoring system again - though we failed to bring the requisite recording materials.
I was disappointed with the service as it was slow and our dishes did not arrive together. Also my main meal was served on a cold plate and was luke warm so by the time I stopped talking about the need for a 3 dimensional scoring matrix my food had gone cold!
I can't remember much about the decor except that there were some decent abstract paintings displayed and the presentational touches were sometimes innovative (e.g. a lettuce stuck in a cucumber) though a bit weird.
As for the food, the shared starter plate had good variety and one very hot chilli. Apart from being luke warm, my main course had too much onion to lamb. We avoided the desserts as they were shown with photos as in tacky holiday resort restaurants. We did chose the Turkish red wine, which was not as bad as feared.
The food, service and decor is of course only part of the experience of dining out and soon fades. The company, the atmosphere we generate and the conversation is what stays in the mind. Leaving the kids safely tucked up with their DSs and chocolate stashes, we were all ready for deep meaningful adult discussion. Let loose, and able to talk uninterrupted, our conversation ranged from problems we have had with mobile phones via Birmingham and the Apprentice (oh, those heady days of something worth watching on TV!) to the nerdy jobs we would secretly like to have if we were not gainfully employed elsewhere. We need to get out more ...
Sanuk - I made no notes at all but remembered that the decor was quite red and the dishes came with decorative flowers! I enjoyed the discussions on scoring establishments though felt that post-its and flipchart paper would be an advantage next time.
Istanbul Grill - I was more on the ball this time and made notes the same evening. All the WREC were present and so we were able to go through the scoring system again - though we failed to bring the requisite recording materials.
I was disappointed with the service as it was slow and our dishes did not arrive together. Also my main meal was served on a cold plate and was luke warm so by the time I stopped talking about the need for a 3 dimensional scoring matrix my food had gone cold!
I can't remember much about the decor except that there were some decent abstract paintings displayed and the presentational touches were sometimes innovative (e.g. a lettuce stuck in a cucumber) though a bit weird.
As for the food, the shared starter plate had good variety and one very hot chilli. Apart from being luke warm, my main course had too much onion to lamb. We avoided the desserts as they were shown with photos as in tacky holiday resort restaurants. We did chose the Turkish red wine, which was not as bad as feared.
The food, service and decor is of course only part of the experience of dining out and soon fades. The company, the atmosphere we generate and the conversation is what stays in the mind. Leaving the kids safely tucked up with their DSs and chocolate stashes, we were all ready for deep meaningful adult discussion. Let loose, and able to talk uninterrupted, our conversation ranged from problems we have had with mobile phones via Birmingham and the Apprentice (oh, those heady days of something worth watching on TV!) to the nerdy jobs we would secretly like to have if we were not gainfully employed elsewhere. We need to get out more ...
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Crikey - I can blog by Diner4
It's taken so long to be able to post - I've forgotten what to say. I'll be back!
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Well our second outing for the Wrec was at the Istanbul Grill in Didsbury. To be honest I was expecting the choice of food to be rather limited here and was hoping to be pleasantly surprised, which I'm pleased to say I was. Looking through the menu I had one of those terrible moments as a diner of having to make a choice! There were several starters and main courses that I would have liked so choosing between them was quite hard. One of the advantages of dining with 5 other people is that, if you play your cards right, they'll let you taste some of their food which, now that the Wrec have had two outings, seems to be acceptable. This means that at the Istanbul Grill I not only had the opportunity to taste my own very tasty food but also that of my fellow diners, and there was plenty of tasty food to choose from. For my main meal I had Istanbul stew which was Lamb cooked on the bone in a tomato sauce, a dish I would highly recommend especially as there was plenty of it. My only criticism of this restaurant was the rather slow service, especially as the restaurant wasn't particularly busy.
Life within the WREC is moving on nicely now. We have now had all members present and I think that I can safely say that we're enjoying the fact that for at least once a month we can meet up with like minded friends and get away from busy family life. We're starting to get into the swing of the scoring criteria, although we still haven't decided what to do with this information yet, but most importantly one diner who made it clear from meal one that he doesn't share his food, is the diner in meal 2 who offered to share his fish cakes.....onwards and upwards!
Life within the WREC is moving on nicely now. We have now had all members present and I think that I can safely say that we're enjoying the fact that for at least once a month we can meet up with like minded friends and get away from busy family life. We're starting to get into the swing of the scoring criteria, although we still haven't decided what to do with this information yet, but most importantly one diner who made it clear from meal one that he doesn't share his food, is the diner in meal 2 who offered to share his fish cakes.....onwards and upwards!
Sunday, 1 June 2008
Better late than never!
The Sanuk
At last I am contributing to the comments. (At least I'm not THE last!) Well I imagine the last 2 diners are going to have an equally difficult time of remembering what we ate in the Sanuk. To be honest I was excited at the idea of regularly meeting for a meal out. I became the 'note taker' for the evening (mainly because I was the one with a pen and a paper in my bag!). There was much debate about the features we would comment on and I insisted we include the toilet facilities-subconciously I feel there is a link between the cleanliness of the bathroom and kitchen-based on no logic what so ever!
In the Sanuk I liked the contempory decor and was impressed with the presntation of food. I can't honestly remember what I ate but I know it tasted good and was pleased that I appeared to have chosen well compared to my fellow diners. Yes I would encourage others to sample this restaurant.
The 'Turkist restaurant next to the laughing Buddah'
The venue name can't be that memorable but most people knew where I meant when I described our next dining choice. (I'm not good at remembering things!)
I enjoyed the tasty mixed starters-perfect for sharing. I'd dithered about choosing the fish cakes but was honoured when a fellow diner allowed me to taste his! I expected my main course of chicken, spinach and feta cheese to have a stronger flavour but I still enjoyed it-just the right portion size for me. Didn't fancy the desserts-photos on a laminated menu put me off but did have a nice earl grey tea (sorry not very Turkish). An enjoyable evening yet again!
At last I am contributing to the comments. (At least I'm not THE last!) Well I imagine the last 2 diners are going to have an equally difficult time of remembering what we ate in the Sanuk. To be honest I was excited at the idea of regularly meeting for a meal out. I became the 'note taker' for the evening (mainly because I was the one with a pen and a paper in my bag!). There was much debate about the features we would comment on and I insisted we include the toilet facilities-subconciously I feel there is a link between the cleanliness of the bathroom and kitchen-based on no logic what so ever!
In the Sanuk I liked the contempory decor and was impressed with the presntation of food. I can't honestly remember what I ate but I know it tasted good and was pleased that I appeared to have chosen well compared to my fellow diners. Yes I would encourage others to sample this restaurant.
The 'Turkist restaurant next to the laughing Buddah'
The venue name can't be that memorable but most people knew where I meant when I described our next dining choice. (I'm not good at remembering things!)
I enjoyed the tasty mixed starters-perfect for sharing. I'd dithered about choosing the fish cakes but was honoured when a fellow diner allowed me to taste his! I expected my main course of chicken, spinach and feta cheese to have a stronger flavour but I still enjoyed it-just the right portion size for me. Didn't fancy the desserts-photos on a laminated menu put me off but did have a nice earl grey tea (sorry not very Turkish). An enjoyable evening yet again!
Friday, 30 May 2008
Diner 3 - "The Beginning...well for me at least!"
The Istanbul Grill, 28/05/08 - so having missed the inaugural meeting of the "eatery club"....or is it "crew" for 'work reasons', my 1st attendance resulted in a full turn out of the WREC team and for me, my first ever visit to a Turkish restaurant which perhaps maybe a little surprising to some for a 35+ year old, although I expect a few more 'firsts' (for me) as we travel down Wilmslow Road over the next few months, or more realistically years before we reach the very end!
Anyway for a man of rare extravagance when it comes to food or drink, I decided to embrace the spirit of the 'meets' and immmediately opted for the Turkish beer ("Efes") rather than opt for the safer option of Stella or Bud on offer! A pretty good start I would say so I opted for another of the same later in the evening (albeit being a little later in the evening than I planned as it took 2 requests for my 2nd Efes beer to arrive - overall service was ok but nothing more for a not particularly busy Wednesday evening).
As for the food, the mixed hot and cold starter 'to share' (shared with Diner 6), also made a good impression although I am unable to remember what it was or what it tasted like / of...it was just, well, quite tasty! (yes, you can look forward to more insightful and well articulated culinary reviews from me in the coming months).
As for the main course, I opted for the Istanbul grilled chicken which was, as it sounds, grilled chicken - nothing more and rather bland...I should have accepted the offer of some of the sauce from Diner 1's (aka Kirsty) choice to spice it up a little. But for me, the safe bland option was probably a good choice before I choose to be a little more ambitious as we travel down the road on our eating venture!
Still, would I recommend said restaurant to others, on balance, yes, and it is definitely the best one for me as part of the WREC so far...bring on The Laughing Bhudda!
Anyway for a man of rare extravagance when it comes to food or drink, I decided to embrace the spirit of the 'meets' and immmediately opted for the Turkish beer ("Efes") rather than opt for the safer option of Stella or Bud on offer! A pretty good start I would say so I opted for another of the same later in the evening (albeit being a little later in the evening than I planned as it took 2 requests for my 2nd Efes beer to arrive - overall service was ok but nothing more for a not particularly busy Wednesday evening).
As for the food, the mixed hot and cold starter 'to share' (shared with Diner 6), also made a good impression although I am unable to remember what it was or what it tasted like / of...it was just, well, quite tasty! (yes, you can look forward to more insightful and well articulated culinary reviews from me in the coming months).
As for the main course, I opted for the Istanbul grilled chicken which was, as it sounds, grilled chicken - nothing more and rather bland...I should have accepted the offer of some of the sauce from Diner 1's (aka Kirsty) choice to spice it up a little. But for me, the safe bland option was probably a good choice before I choose to be a little more ambitious as we travel down the road on our eating venture!
Still, would I recommend said restaurant to others, on balance, yes, and it is definitely the best one for me as part of the WREC so far...bring on The Laughing Bhudda!
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Diner 2 "The Return" Istanbul Grill
Here we are again then, back for more and Sven is still hanging on by his fingertips. Perhaps he fancies trying a few restaurants along Wilmslow Road before he's finally pushed out the door and he could do a lot worse than visit the Istanbul Grill. Now thinking of the sort of delights we might encounter i suppose i was going down the road of kebabs etc which does the "Grill" an injustice as the menu turned out to contain numerous very tasty sounding dishes and the choice was a difficult one.
I finally settled on a spicy Turkish sausage as a starter and a main dish, which turned out to be a very popular choice among our group, of slow cooked paprika lamb. First off the sausage was a great introduction, not too spicy but just enough and left me wanting more. Then came the main dish. Although it arrived luke warm i have to say the taste and texture of the lamb more than made up for that and combined with the rice made a dish i would highly recommend.
One word of warning though as we decided when in Rome and all that to venture into the unknown territory of authentic Turkish red wine with a cheeky little number called, I suppose this should have given us a little clue, Buzzbag (no i'm not joking). Safe to say we wouldn't recommend it and during the evening and ensuing talk of the night became the buzz (no pun intended) word for anything which didn't make the grade. So, in future posts if it's described as Buzzbag you know to steer clear.
Overall i liked the Grill, i'll def be back at some point soon to sample more of the menu, which i am very sad to say won't be the case for Sven as he's finally been given the boot, yes OK there was a slight delay (well a week) in me starting and finishing this but now its onwards with a new manager, even if he is an ex red, which i hope won't leave a sour taste for our next foray into Wilmslow Road.
I finally settled on a spicy Turkish sausage as a starter and a main dish, which turned out to be a very popular choice among our group, of slow cooked paprika lamb. First off the sausage was a great introduction, not too spicy but just enough and left me wanting more. Then came the main dish. Although it arrived luke warm i have to say the taste and texture of the lamb more than made up for that and combined with the rice made a dish i would highly recommend.
One word of warning though as we decided when in Rome and all that to venture into the unknown territory of authentic Turkish red wine with a cheeky little number called, I suppose this should have given us a little clue, Buzzbag (no i'm not joking). Safe to say we wouldn't recommend it and during the evening and ensuing talk of the night became the buzz (no pun intended) word for anything which didn't make the grade. So, in future posts if it's described as Buzzbag you know to steer clear.
Overall i liked the Grill, i'll def be back at some point soon to sample more of the menu, which i am very sad to say won't be the case for Sven as he's finally been given the boot, yes OK there was a slight delay (well a week) in me starting and finishing this but now its onwards with a new manager, even if he is an ex red, which i hope won't leave a sour taste for our next foray into Wilmslow Road.
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Diner2 "The Beginning"
As i write I'm thinking slightly along the lines of "today all of all days I'm sat here reviewing a THAI restaurant" this is after coming home to the news that the god that is our great and mighty City manager, Sven, has been given the heave ho by our new THAI owner who obviously doesn't have a clue about football............lets hope his compatriots in the Sanuk THAI restaurant know a thing or two about food!
Arriving fashionably late i was surprised to see the Sanuk extremely busy, for a Wednesday night anyway, and entered thinking that could only be a good sign although it did seem to empty very soon after i arrived, nothing to do with me i hope. I soon made use of the complimentary crackers which, combined with a Tiger beer, soon got my appetite going and so i delved into the menu to decide on my feast for the evening. After much deliberation and shouts of "what you having" and "i was gonna have that" i went for corn cakes (or something like that) for a starter, have to say not the tastiest choice, and Beef with noodles for main. Now obviously it had some fancy Thai name for the main dish but it escapes me at the moment and this leads me to my first slight criticism in that the waitress could have given us novices to Thai food, well me anyway, some guidance on choice. If you've read diner1's review below you'll see they were slightly disappointed in the dish they chose and i have to say so was i. If the staff had mentioned something along the lines of "you might want a sauce with that" or "maybe combine that with this" i couldn't be blamed for what i ended up with. Although cooked beautifully i definitely wouldn't go for my chosen dish again as it was a bit nondescript on its own. However you couldn't fault the presentation (no you can't eat the flowers on the plate). Now there are, apparently, other criteria we looked at but I've decided i won't include all of them in one go suffice to say i liked, quite a lot, the decor and overall "experience" of the Sanuk although if you're ever the last ones left I'm sure they turn the music (authentic Thai it may be) up to that irritating level which makes you slightly hurry the last few drops of beer in your glass to escape. Value for money was excellent and overall i want to go back for some of what my other diners had............although under protest at "Franks" meddling with my beloved City!
Arriving fashionably late i was surprised to see the Sanuk extremely busy, for a Wednesday night anyway, and entered thinking that could only be a good sign although it did seem to empty very soon after i arrived, nothing to do with me i hope. I soon made use of the complimentary crackers which, combined with a Tiger beer, soon got my appetite going and so i delved into the menu to decide on my feast for the evening. After much deliberation and shouts of "what you having" and "i was gonna have that" i went for corn cakes (or something like that) for a starter, have to say not the tastiest choice, and Beef with noodles for main. Now obviously it had some fancy Thai name for the main dish but it escapes me at the moment and this leads me to my first slight criticism in that the waitress could have given us novices to Thai food, well me anyway, some guidance on choice. If you've read diner1's review below you'll see they were slightly disappointed in the dish they chose and i have to say so was i. If the staff had mentioned something along the lines of "you might want a sauce with that" or "maybe combine that with this" i couldn't be blamed for what i ended up with. Although cooked beautifully i definitely wouldn't go for my chosen dish again as it was a bit nondescript on its own. However you couldn't fault the presentation (no you can't eat the flowers on the plate). Now there are, apparently, other criteria we looked at but I've decided i won't include all of them in one go suffice to say i liked, quite a lot, the decor and overall "experience" of the Sanuk although if you're ever the last ones left I'm sure they turn the music (authentic Thai it may be) up to that irritating level which makes you slightly hurry the last few drops of beer in your glass to escape. Value for money was excellent and overall i want to go back for some of what my other diners had............although under protest at "Franks" meddling with my beloved City!
Sunday, 27 April 2008
The beginning - Wednesday 23rd April 2008
The first of many many nights of eating started at the Sanuk Thai restaurant at 810 Wilmslow Road.
Unfortunately we were missing one of our members for our inaugural meal but nevertheless we went about the important task of setting the marking criteria that would be used for each restaurant. We'll spare you the finer details of this but will post a summary of our findings on this blog.
Diner 1: Nice restaurant, modern sleek design with good use of limited space. Good service, if a little on the slow side and good selection of food. Unfortunately I chose a dish that was rather bland (Seabass and noodles) and then was very jealous of my co-diners who's food looked and tasted more as I'd expected. The presentation of the food was excellent, toilets average but overall a reasonably priced enjoyable evening and definitely a restaurant that I would recommend to others.
Unfortunately we were missing one of our members for our inaugural meal but nevertheless we went about the important task of setting the marking criteria that would be used for each restaurant. We'll spare you the finer details of this but will post a summary of our findings on this blog.
Diner 1: Nice restaurant, modern sleek design with good use of limited space. Good service, if a little on the slow side and good selection of food. Unfortunately I chose a dish that was rather bland (Seabass and noodles) and then was very jealous of my co-diners who's food looked and tasted more as I'd expected. The presentation of the food was excellent, toilets average but overall a reasonably priced enjoyable evening and definitely a restaurant that I would recommend to others.
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