O perfil de BEV

They say first impressions count; it was a grubby village pub, smelling of stale cigarettes with yellow stained ceilings
and blistered varnished tables separated with dark wood screens making the so called “restaurant area” very dark.
The service was slack to say the least, despite the efforts of a friendly barman who was trying desperately to keep
a modicum of professionalism. It should have sent the alarm bells ringing a lot louder than they were. The waitress
we’d been informed would show us to our table and bring the menu and specials board was obviously impressed as
she cleared off, leaving us to fend for ourselves and 15 minutes later seek out the barman for the aged and stained
menus and the specials board which was in fact very ordinary and boasted an even less special price of £9.95 each.
The busy if somewhat expensive menu would have seemed more at home in a 5* restaurant was it not so very dirty.
I ordered slow cooked Belly Pork served on a bed of Cabbage with a selection of vegetables – clearly it must have been
mid cooking process over a candle as it arrived, WHITE STRING in situ, 2 slices of the toughest Pig Fat I have ever
had the displeasure of trying to eat. They provided me with a steak knife to try and prize the string from this mass of
fat and as I forced the rubbery rings apart I found only the smallest slithers of meat, which were extremely tough. (I can
still recall Grandmother’s and Mother’s slow cooked belly pork, falling apart on the plate revealing the most succulent
and tender Pork and the string which was always removed before serving, was stained brown with meat juices during this
lengthy cooking process!) I lifted the mass of fat and placed it on the side of the deep soup bowl from which it had
been served to find the bed of cabbage laced with even more fat, masses of cubed white bacon fat – no wonder the
gravy had split and resembled an oil slick! The selection of veg to accompany this greasy delight that arrived a good
10 minutes later was 3 very small potatoes, a floret of yellow broccoli clearly past it’s sell by, some carrot batons and
a few overcooked string beans. The table and my still full soup bowl was cleared without a word from a senior looking
member of staff, so I asked her to pass on my compliments to the chef for the most expensive bowl of the toughest pig
fat I had ever been served. She said she would, however, as she exited the room she retorted that it was fine yesterday.
My stomach sunk even further, had I been served yesterday’s pork?? We weren’t offered anything else and the bill for
this and my partners meal along with a couple of drinks was a staggering £31. I should have listened to that first
impression alarm bell, we could have eaten quality food in a restaurant with laundered table linen and full waitress
service for the same if not less money. Not once were we asked if the meal was good or if there were any problems and
it was only as my partner paid the bill at the bar that we were asked if we would like anything else.

I’m giving this place 5 stars but not for the grub, which incidentally looked fantastic after a night on the Mohitos but was typically Micro-dinged, scalding on the outside and luke in the middle, naaaa the 5 stars have to be for the Iced Tea. Made from a certain naughty plant, very refreshing and to our amazement very entertaining - but try and walk sensibly along those decorative cobbled streets after an afternoon tea and act like a respectible english woman with the tiniest smidge of grace!! They move you know, the cobbles that is!
Who cares, I don’t have to see those pan faced Prahans again for a while and it was possibly one of the highlights of a fantastic 4 day blast of culture. P.S. wished someone had told me how vile Absinth was though, I’m still trying to restore my poor nashers to their original whiteness!!!!

Well done to the new owners of the Moorings, little cafe’ style place right on the lock in the Marina. Not a bad place for some homely grub and the new owners have kept the same home-cooked menu and lashings of home baked pies, flans, quiches and cakes. Not sure about the chav-like cushions scattered around the place, but defo appreciate the new jukie, it’s nice to have music in there at last - good food is not good without vibes now it’s vibe-rant and yummy, yhay!

Spices is really nice, calming, tasteful and contemporary. It was snowing a frenzy outside so we went in for an early-bird special menu and stayed for hours, ordered almost everything off the menu and enjoyed every single mouthful. The waiters kept staring with the kind of smile which hid a question or two and they probably wondered where on earth we were putting all the food, which, I have to say was a little on the colourful side, but very very delicious all the same and the service was faultless, defo worth a visit. The bill was a pleasant surprise and the poppadums, just heavenly. Can’t wait to go back.

Market Tavern (formerly known as Tavistock) is light bright and comfortable. Food is really good, if a little pricey but the early bird/teatime menu is excellent value, offering a selection from the main menu at vastly reduced prices but the same size portions and although the offer is only valid until 6.45 they don’t push you out the door if you want to chat and enjoy a drink after you have finished your meal.

The Oven in Darlington is THE place to go for exquisite food, excellent service and tasteful surroundings. It is not an inexpensive menu, however, the quality far outweighs the prices. Having recently sampled so many poor attempts at various "eateries" in the local area, it was truly a delight to finally eat at The Oven. It was like stepping into another dimension and every single mouthful was heavenly, well worth it. If I had one negative comment it would simply be the size of the place, as it was bursting at the seams with happy diners and those eagerly awaiting tables, there was literally no standing room left whilst we waited for our table, but the wait was definitely worth it.

Bev (B/Auckland)