Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

Location & Photo

 

	White Lion Southam Road Radford Semele Nr Leamington Spa Warwickshire CV31 Tel: 01926 425 770?

Review

Think of a sleepy English village pub with a thatched roof and you’ll probably think of something similar to the White Lion in Radford Semele.

Situated on the busy Southam Road the White Lion’s character pulls you in with all the welcoming warmth a country gastro-pub can. This belies the fact that the pub is part of the Chef & Brewer chain which to me has become the John Lewis of gastro-pub  chains having been a regular at the Bear & Staff pub in Gateacre in Liverpool since my formative years. So being used to the outstanding quality of Chef & Brewer fayre, it was difficult to be objective describing the dining experience here.

The bar area boasts some excellent local real ales and promotional literature throughout the pub announces the imminent arrival of a season long in house beer festival. You know, the kind where you buy pints of local beer, drink it, come back another day and try another one. This pub is probably run by a very ale passionate landlord as the beer rarely disappoints but the prices unfortunately do. But I guess there’s nobody to blame for £3 a pint beer but the government.

The menu is beautifully presented and a chalk board proclaims a changing specials menu. The menu also features a Mixed Grill! Sadly this mixed grill is missing a number of the key ingredients to qualify for a Mucky Badger mixed grill award containing only gammon, chicken(!), sausage, steak and ancillary vegetables. Had it contained some lamb and some liver it could well be in the running for an award.

So not to be disappointed I opted for the 9oz Rump Steak. Served medium, the meat tasted fresh with minimal gristle and was accompanied by some chips and a small garnish. It might have been worth chucking some garden peas on that plate for the price that was paid but it still provided a decent meal.

Service there was more than splendid (despite being greeted with “Good evening ladies” – I must get round to having a hair cut) and the meal arrived without too long a wait. Even the dessert choices left me spoilt for choice. However, in the end the Lime Meringue pie was opted for and the flavour was it’s own reward. The cutting tang of lime causing memories of long forgotten much loved flavours of Angel Delight to come flooding back.

So for

• 1 x Mixed Grill
• 1 x Rump Steak and chips
• 1 x Lime pie
• 1 x Fizzy mineral water
• 1 x pint of Foster’s Lager

The price came to just over £30

Conclusion

Delightful surroundings and pleasant atmosphere with what seems to be fairly locally sourced ingredients served by excellently presented staff deserving a good score, however the price does leave a nasty after taste and while good food does cost more it can’t be helped to think how much profit this pub makes on dry sales.

Still, the portions and lack of fuss make this pub score slightly higher than the Plough in Eathorpe, but the cost prevents a higher score, 87%

I have a predilection for ginger beer. I love the stuff. No. Love isn’t a strong enough word. But for decency purposes I’ll say I love the stuff.

A while back on the good old B3ta website somebody posted a recipe for home made ginger beer. Their claim was that the ginger beers on the market just weren’t fiery enough for them. Carefully following the recipe, I made in roads to home produced ginger beer. It was phenomenal. I controlled the amount of ginger I had in it and everyone who tasted it made that “hooo!” noise as the burning ginger stung the back of their throat and caused their eyes to bleed.

Sure enough I experimented further. Altering ingredient quantities, changing the method that the ginger was used, prolonging the fermentation process. I am pleased to say I’m still not satisfied. Maybe it’s my ginger tolerance levels that have now surpassed those of even the most hardened ginger fanatic. I don’t know. I do know though, I am unable to find a ginger beer that satiates my fiery desire.

So it might come as a surprise to read even though I strive to make eye watering ginger beer, that I like to buy ready made ginger beer too. Purely for research purposes I’m sure you’ll understand.

So what better place to review some of these ginger beers than with the good old Mucky Badger?

Location & Photo

Marton Road
Long Itchington,
Southam,
Warwickshire CV47
01926 633 233

Review

When you’re driving through the lovely Warwickshire countryside, possibly the last thing you expect to see is a Chinese restaurant. Unless, of course, you’re looking for that particular place.

The Water Margin has been a long time favourite of both my companion and mine. We spent New Year’s eve there in 2009 and whenever stuck on making a decision about what we’re to eat of an evening, the Water Margin is often our first choice.

Their menu is extensive and reasonably priced; the decor simple and clean. The staff always pleasant; The food? Well the food is more than delicious.

Having failed to have our Chinese food desire fulfilled at the Emperor’s restaurant (see previous review) we decided that the following night we would go to the Water Margin and compare.

Price wise, for about the same as we’d spent in the Emperor’s, we managed to get a substantial feast to share. The Water Margin’s set banquets do have a wide variation but when catering for two people the selections on the set meals are a little uninspiring. Don’t get me wrong though, they are delicious but my critical mind looks for a little bit more in the way of options. Indeed, had we been a group of three or four then the set meals for larger parties do come with much more choice. I guess the trick is to bring your chums to this one.

Anyway, we opted for:

• Prawn toast (6)
• Salt and pepper spare ribs – deliciously succulent and large, most of the Chinese restaurants I have been to in Warwickshire tend to have those tiny little riblets that consist mostly of gristle.
• Salt and Pepper Chicken wings in Honey – Again, another winner for both of us
• Chicken in Peking Sauce – A sweet and tangy sauce with fair sized chicken pieces
• Pork in Black Bean Sauce – A fantastic salty feast
• Yueng Chow Fried Rice – Much more than the mouthful  at the Emperor’s

The whole selection came to just under £35 which was a similar price to that paid at the Emperor’s but this time we left feeling full. In fact, I could not finish and my companion Zoe, had to finish what was left over despite my appeal for a doggy bag.

The staff were thoughtful and pleasant; the surroundings, again pleasant; the food first rate. Now if the Emperor’s portions were this size I’d have been pleased but when you find smaller relatively off the beaten track restaurants that do comparatively excellent food but with much more portion wise, you wonder why you left the more expensive place feeling hungry.

Conclusion

If you are in the Leamington Spa area I can thoroughly recommend the Water Margin to fulfil your Chinese food fix. If you’re feeling daring why not nip in on a Sunday afternoon when you can have an all you can eat buffet or just pop in on an evening. They also do take away but as the Warwickshire base is a bit far out our take away meal would be cold by the time we’d got it home. Besides, its such an ace place, you’ll definitely want to go back with your chums.

Score – 87% – A Forbidden Palace of a restaurant worthy of a title such as Emperor. Well worth the visit.

Location and Photos

Bath Place,
Leamington Spa.
Warwickshire.
CV31 3BP.
Tel: 01926 313030 

Review

Tucked away in a quiet unsuspecting part of Leamington Spa I’d not been to before, hides the Emperor’s Restaurant. I’m a big fan of Chinese food and I rarely find a menu without something I like.

As with all international cuisine restaurants, I try to go for the specials or for a dish I’ve not seen before as I believe that is the best way to see the incumbent chef’s talents. Often this works out well and I leave impressed other times I leave thinking “And that was supposed to be special?”

My companion and I decided to take a break from our usual Chinese of choice and venture to unknown territory after reading some rave reviews of the Emperor on Google. We eventually found it and were pleased to also discover another pay and display car park near by that we had no idea about.

On entering, the first thing that we noticed was how well decorated it was. Subdued lighting, a small bar area and a friendly greeting welcomed us. We hadn’t booked as often we decide to go for something to eat on the spur of the moment and, as it was early, we thought we would be likely to get a table. We were ok for a table except we were asked to make sure we had finished by 8.30pm. This was fine as 2 hours dining was more than ample.

We were shown to some seats. At first I thought “Oh no! They really are expecting a coach load” as we seemed to have been seated at a precarious round table with not much elbow room. But we were given a basket of prawn crackers to munch while we perused the menu.

The menu was extensive and slightly expensive too. However we carried on hoping that the prices reflected the good reviews and the plethora of awards adorning the the wall. We opted for a mixed starter, two main courses and some yung chow fried rice. I can’t recall if this was one of the set menus or not but that is what we got.

Before long we were shown into the equally beautifully decorated main part of the restaurant and seated at a proper table. Our first course arrived and was quickly munched. As with most Chinese restaurants I’ve been to in Warwickshire they are a bit stingey on the dipping sauce but I’ve had enough practice at rationing what we get so was able to stretch it further.

The mains arrived. Considering the price of the meals the portions were a bit on the measly side. I’m sorry but Nouvelle Cuisine went the way of the dodo in the mid nineties. None the less, the meals were delicious and we had room for desert, mine consisted of banoffee pie while my companion went for the lemon sorbet.

Conclusion

A delightful little place and a hidden gem in Leamington Spa. In all the meal was delicious but the small portions let the place down. If you’re going to charge upwards of £16 per person you’ve got to provide more than just a light snack. I’m sorry to be so harsh. The staff were wonderful, the surroundings immaculate but all this is nothing if the portions leave me wanting more.

Scoring 68% – Bigger portions please! Even the Plough at Eathorpe does more for less.

Location & Photos

The Plough at Eathorpe,
Fosse Way, (Just off the B4455), At Eathorpe,
Nr Leamington Spa, Warwickshire,
Tel: 01926 632557 – (Opening Hours Only)

Review

Most weekends I find myself driving down the Fosse Way to Leamington Spa. If you know Warwickshire at all you’ll appreciate the beautiful rolling English countryside which is but a 5 minute drive from the modern concrete metropolis that is Coventry. The area holds much adventure and excitement for me because I’m still fairly new to the area so finding good places to dine adds to that experience.

This weekend I passed the Plough, as I do every weekend, only this weekend something spoke to me. It said “You’ve been driving down this road for months now and you still haven’t tried that place. Now look! Lunches £4.95…what more could you want?”

I was hungry. But it was Friday night and lunch was a long time off. So I vowed that this was to be the weekend I was to dine at the Plough. I’m glad I convinced myself.

Of course, as with all my predetermined places to eat I started the test that evening. As this is the first review of a place to eat let me tell you about how I intend to mark the places as I write this one.

First off, the question is, does the establishment have a website with a menu? The Plough does (http://www.plough-at-eathorpe.co.uk/) . It’s well designed and it ticks the menu box, but as the site says, the dishes are locally sourced and subject to change without notice. This is fine in my book as that makes the visit just that little bit more exciting. The menu is just the right size but I do note that there is a high dependency on cheese in dishes. This does prove problematic for some diners (especially my companion who is allergic to all dairy). None the less, there was a dish that suited her needs and many more to suit mine. There is also an evening menu available too containing similar dishes to those served at lunch with a few extras thrown in to boot. My companion and I were able to make our decisions that evening and the anticipation for lunch the following day grew.

The Plough passed the second test too. On arrival to the near empty car park, we were concerned that the place might not actually be serving, I guess this is how places go out of business as some people are intimidated by empty restaurants as there are some who are intimidated by full restaurants. But that isn’t the point winner. No, the points go to the warm welcome we received from the very friendly bar staff. We were shown to our seat and presented with an already familiar menu. However, my previous nights selection was not present on the lunch menu of the day but that is fine too as I do appreciate that meals are subject to ingredient supply and also to other factors.

The third test also won points. The men’s toilet  was very clean. It wasn’t the dining room at the Savoy Hotel but it was sufficient. There was no bad odour nor was there anything to suggest that the loos were neglected. This is an important thing in my view as the kitchen staff may well use that same toilet themselves and a clean toilet…well to me it means that the chef isn’t necessarily pissing in the soup.

Fourthly the food itself. I opted for the Whitebait and the Cod. My companion went for the Whitebait and the Stew.

The Whitebait – I adore whitebait. Someplaces do too much, others do too little for a very high price, but at £1.95 the amount I got at the plough was spot on. They were a little bit too well battered which made me think that they were from a freezer bag and the tartar sauce was just right too but could have been a little bit cheekier with the introduction of garlic. The dish was accompanied by a salad and a slice of lemon. Another improvement I would have made would probably have been a small chunk of homemade bread, but that’s me.

The Cod – The cod was presented in the menu as being cooked in their own beer batter, served with chips and with peas. The fish itself was a good size considering. Now I know some of you will be screaming “OMG! Think of the cod stocks man!” but I wanted to see if the cod was cod and I’m always keen to try out batter. I wasn’t disappointed. While the cod might have actually been pollock (it didn’t have the flavour of cod and was a bit too flakey) I wasn’t going to hold that against them. The batter was crisp and firm and the chips a delight and half. The peas, Birds Eye finest, but again, I wasn’t going to be too critical on that level.

The Beef Stew – The beef stew is served with potatoes, carrots, parsnips and a huge dumpling. I am pleased I didn’t opt for the stew though as I am not a big fan of parsnips, again, it would have been good to mention the foul beasts in the description on the menu, but I wasn’t eating it so I can’t fault them. My companion noted that with a quarter of a plate left to go she was already starting to feel very full and uncomfortable. This is a good sign and she definitely enjoyed the meal too.

Conclusion

The Plough at Eathorpe is a traditional English pub restaurant affair. Indeed, it is more of a country restaurant than a pub and it’s location on the Fosse Way (B4455) means that it is reliant on reputation and passing trade. It certainly deserves recommendation and a very prominent reputation for excellent food and service. Comparatively, other local eateries in which I have dined, such as the White Lion in Radford Semele and the Red Lion in Hunningham it provides good service and food for much less. Indeed, while the Red Lion in Hunningham boasts a much wider selection of local fayre, the Plough seems to go that little bit further, perhaps because of the peacefulness of the surroundings (the Red Lion’s pneumatic tube order delivery system does get annoying after a while).

In all, an very pleasant dining experience scoring an 86% score.

CV33 9DQ