Coriander Mexican Restaurant - An Average Experience (Coriander Mexican Restaurant (Bournemouth))

Member Name: anonymili

Product:	Coriander Mexican Restaurant (Bournemouth)
Date:	04/08/09 (79 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fairly authentic food and decor

Disadvantages: customer service somewhat hit and miss

Coriander is an established Mexican restaurant in the Richmond Hill area of Bournemouth. It has been running for 27 years now but at the current premises since the late 90s. I went there with a group of friends in early August 2009 for dinner on a Saturday evening. It was chosen by the one of my friends who had eaten there several times in the past.


THE LOOK

On entering the restaurant I was a bit dismayed as it looked rather small with maybe 10 tables on street level which were all occupied. I was quite relieved to be advised that we would be seated upstairs. We climbed the rather awkward spiral staircase to get upstairs and were seated at a table for 4. I would mention here that I was pretty disgusted with the handrail when walking up the stairs as it was awfully sticky on both sides.

The decor in general was quite typical of most Mexican restaurants I've been to so I guess it was authentic enough - I haven't personally visited Mexico so I wouldn't know if "real" Mexican restaurants look like this.

There were about 20 tables upstairs and unfortunately we were seated next to an extremely rowdy and coarse bunch of women out on a hen night. I found the seating layout of the upstairs to be quite spacious, which is definitely a good point - I'm really not keen on restaurant that try to pack in so many tables that you bash the person seated on the table behind you every time you need to get up from the table.

I visited the toilets once during the evening and was quite shocked to see a picture of a woman sitting on a toilet seat with a Mexican hat covering her bare lap - I thought it was rather a risqué thing to have on a toilet door when you can just have "ladies" or "gents" on the door. Aside from that I found the toilets to be fairly average, they were not very clean but I've seen worse in restaurants.

Coriander is definitely NOT disabled friendly; the spiral staircase is awkward enough for able-bodied people but one of our group had a crutch and found it quite difficult getting up the stairs. I don't know what they have in place for wheelchair users but there's no lift and the toilets are on the 1st floor so it's not really a place I'd recommend for disabled patrons (although the website states that there is disabled access on the ground floor).


THE MENU

I found the menu to be fairly average compared to other Mexican restaurants I've been to. It consisted of typical Mexican dishes such as enchiladas, fajitas, burritos, quesadillas, etc. Starters includes dishes such as chicken wings, potato skins, garlic bread (ok they're not very Mexican) but of course there were items such as nachos, tortilla chips, etc. A sample of the prices so you can decide whether the restaurant is in your price range should you choose to visit:

Starters
* Tortilla chips with salsa = £2.50
* Hongos con Crema (mushrooms) = £5.35
* Nachos = £5.35
* Potato skins = £4.85 or £5.35 (depending on toppings)
* Gambas Mexicana (tiger prawns) = £6.25
* Garlic & cheese bread = £3.45

Mains
* Enchildas = from £8.95 - £10.45 (served with rice, beans or salad)
* Quesadillas = £8.65 or £8.95 (also served with rice, beans or salad)
* Chimichangas = £8.95 or £9.95
* Chilli (beef) with rice & tortillas = £9.35
* Fajitas (for 1 or 2 persons) = chicken £12.35 or £23.70, beef sirloin £13.50 or £26.00, tiger prawns £14.50 or £28.00

As well as the above there were also set meals for a minimum of 2 people which were about the same price per head as some of the main dishes. They also offer party menus (if you want to check out all of the dishes available you can have a look here http://www.coriander-restaurant.co.uk/alacarte/ind ex.asp )

Our dining group ended up having fajitas, a mixture of prawn, chicken and beef. One of our group wanted the tiger prawn dish for her main course but was advised it was not available which I thought was rather strange as she then went on to order tiger prawns for her fajitas.

We were given ample sauces for our fajitas such as salsa, chilli, guacamole, grated cheese and sour cream and the staff were happy to refill our sauces as often as we needed.

We were given our main courses within a reasonable time and we all enjoyed the actual meal although I have to say that none of us were particularly impressed with the guacamole sauce which I feel is quite an important aspect of a fajitas meal normally. The portion sizes were more than ample and we struggled to get anywhere near finishing our whole main course so we were very glad we didn't order starters. We were also unable to order any desserts due to being so full but the ones we saw in the display cabinet downstairs looked delicious, especially the cheesecake.

With our meal we had a couple of cocktails each which were priced at around £4.50. The full drinks menu is available here: http://www.coriander-restaurant.co.uk/drinks/index .asp


ATMOSPHERE/CUSTOMER SERVICE

I found the atmosphere quite sombre when we initially walked into the restaurant on the street level but as soon as we were seated at our upstairs table we all knew it was going to be a nightmare trying to have any level of conversation. The very rowdy group on the next table of about 10 females on a hen night seemed to think they were the only customers in the whole restaurant and their constant screeching and laughter just made it impossible for us to have much in the way of dinner conversation. It was worse than being in a nightclub and we were very relieved when they all left but that was only about 20 minutes before we were finished and ready to leave. The customers on the other neighbouring tables were constantly frowning at the hen party group and I'm pretty sure the 2 couples sitting on nearby tables also regretted coming to that restaurant on this particular evening. By the time the hen party had left we were one of just two tables of customers left upstairs and I did have the feeling that the staff were just waiting for us to finish our cocktails and leave.

Music-wise they were playing quite pleasant easy to listen to Mexican music but we didn't actually get to hear ANY of this until the hen crowd left the restaurant.

I have to say that I wasn't impressed with the overall service we received. I asked for a glass of water and had to remind them after 15 minutes as they still hadn't brought it over. They took ages to bring our 2nd round of cocktails to us even though the restaurant was almost empty by then. When these cocktails were eventually brought over they had got mine wrong and had to take it away to make another one - I didn't even get a chance to say "I didn't actually order that!" The waiter himself realised as soon as he reached our table. I also found it rather strange that when one of my friends asked what coffee liqueurs were available the waitress said everything, my friend asked for Drambuie and was told there wasn't anything so she asked what there actually was then and the waitress could only remember Cointreau to which my friend said definitely not. The waitress went away to find out what else there was and came back and started off with Cointreau yet again (obviously a very short memory span) and could just remember one other liqueur available for coffee, my friend just ordered that rather than having to go through the palaver of the waitress going off again! Overall the staff were polite enough when serving us but we did have to wait for a while to get their attention when we wanted the bill and ended up having to actually wave at them and say "Can we have the bill please!"


THE BILL

Our bill was presented to us and I noted that they hadn't applied the 10% discount to which we were entitled. The hotel we stayed at advertised that you get 10% discount if you booked a meal with certain restaurants and as we were planning to go to this one anyway it was handy that it was on the list. The hotel made the booking and gave us a discount voucher. When the bill arrived my friends did actually forget to check if the discount had been applied but when we pointed it out, they took the bill away with the voucher and amended it. It had initially come to just under £90 for 4 of us and once amended it was just under £80.

A service charge was not included (which is a plus point for me - I don't like restaurants assuming I'll want to pay a service charge especially when I receive poor service). We didn't think the service was great but we still left a £5 tip.

I thought it was a nice touch that they gave a small pot of coriander with the bill which is something they've been doing for years (as my friend who'd been there numerous times previously advised me) but it might have been nicer had we ALL got a pot. There were no mints or chocolates given with the bill.


OVERALL

I doubt I'd visit this restaurant again if I'm spending time in Bournemouth; it was just very average for me. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars.


OTHER PERTINENT INFO

Contact details:
Coriander
22 Richmond Hill
Bournemouth
Dorset
BH2 6EJ
Tel: 01202 552202
Url: http://www.coriander-restaurant.co.uk/

Opening times: 7 days a week - 12 noon to 10pm as stated on the website (which I believe is incorrect as we booked in for 9.30pm and left shortly before midnight).
Children welcome till 7pm only.
Large vegetarian selection available.

Summary: Not suitable for a romantic or quiet meal out...