England Restaurants / Cafes National
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Planet Coffee (Hull)
by PeaceLoveTravel Newland Avenue in Kingston-upon-Hull is in the heart of the student area that occupies everything from Beverley road towards Cottingham. Most private student houses are located here and as a student you really have no need to venture out any further that 1km from your house to satisfy any of your shopping, nightlife and culinary needs. ... Oh, and of course the actual University is not too far away as well. Most people coming to Hull seem to be somehow connected to the University or use the city as a starting point for a P&O cruise. Despite its bad reputation Hull is actually a lovely city offering visitors a wide variety of attractions and an exceptional nightlife. For anyone venturing out of the city centre towards Newland Avenue Planet Coffee is a must stop-off point. On the corner of Alexander Road Planet Coffee is roughly 1km from the University and maybe 4km from the train station. You really cannot miss it as it is usually very busy with people sitting outside even in bad weather. The clientele is diverse, ranging from the obligatory students to business meetings and families. Everyone is welcome here and the café really caters for all needs. Over the last couple of years I have probably spend more time here sipping hot chocolates than inside a lecture hall. It is the perfect place to meet friends for a relaxed afternoon and the upstairs even has the perfect group revision area. As the name says this café offers everything a coffee lover could dream of as well as a wide selection of cold drinks, delicious cakes and homemade sandwiches. My winter favourite however is the hot chocolate section. Whilst he hot choc is tasty on its own it is made special by adding flavoured syrups. There is a suggestion menu including orange & coconut flavour, mint favour and the perfect tear dryer of marshmallow syrup with actually marshmallows topping the drink off. But feel free to experiment with your own creations. All the medium hot chocs on the menu are 2.20£ but it is a few pence more if you add an extra syrup of your choice. My housemate and me pride ourselves in having tried and tested the entire menu several times through. We loved every flavour bar the slightly obscure cherry and cream hot choc. My favourite is gingerbread and pumpkin spice (yes, this is exactly how fancy Planet Coffee can be) with a close second of minty hot chocolate during not so cold days. And if that is not sweet enough you always have the option to add a piece of cake to your drink. The cakes look home-made but please don't quote me on that. With 2.50£ they are ok value for money with some more tasty than other. I am not a big cake eater but my housemate loves them and cannot resist the temptation. I have tried a few of them as they really do look inviting but most were a bit too sweet for my taste. With a huge piece of cake, cream on the side plus a syrupy hot choc topped with more cream and a flakey this really is a heart attack in the waiting. But hey, student life is stressful enough to warrant the occasional treat. There is sometimes a vegan option on offer but generally most cakes are not vegan friendly so better ask if that is a concern for you. If you are looking for some more health conscious options you can still count of Planet coffee. Food wise there is a soup of the day during the winter months served which is usually very tasty. The bowl is massive and although I am not completely sure on the price anymore I would be tempted to say it is under 3£ for a portion of soup and a roll. I had the tomato, the lentil and the carrot and coriander soup before and all of them were delicious and very filling. During the summer months you have the option of several types of paninis and sandwiches all served with crisps on the side. The tomato and mozzarella panini was always well seasoned and tasty. The paninis are definitely filling enough for a light lunch during lecture breaks or a quick snack in the afternoon. During the summer months the hot chocs are a bit too rich for me, and probably for most people, but luckily there is a wide variety of cold drinks on the menu. The summer highlight are definitely the fruit smoothies for 3£ each. Frozen fruit is mixed with juice or ice cream to create the perfect summer drink. The flavours are nice but as they are pre-packed portions you cannot get rid of any one fruit you don't like. Another favourite summer drink is iced tea with lemonade - simply choose your tea flavour from the wide choice of organic and fair trade fruit and herbal teas and add to a small bottle of soda. Voila, healthy and refreshing at the same time. During the summer months it is unfortunately almost impossible to get a seat outside and some people really seem to be spending their entire day sitting there. I guess it is really the perfect spot to get some sun and enjoy people watching up and down Newland. Smoking is permitted outside but obviously not inside. Inside are quite a few small tables with comfy chairs and bigger seating groups with couches arranged on the ground floor. I find it here to be a bit noisy with all the groups occupying the middle bit of the room. Sitting close to the counter can be very annoying with people pushing through constantly and the milk foaming machine thingy is terribly loud. It is a good atmosphere though if you are looking for a laugh with your friends. The upstairs tends to be quieter with fewer people here. We usually try to sit here if we go for a proper chat or a revision session. The interior is sort of retro and vintage inspired but certainly comfortable and homely. I admit to having spent entire afternoons sitting here chatting the time away. Staff is generally efficient and laid-back but not overly friendly. However, they are swamped with costumers so I will forgive them the occasional grumpy day. The one thing that does annoy me is that they "close" way before closing time - meaning that sometimes you cannot get a hot drink anymore even if it is three quarters of an hour until close. Also starting to clean up and mopping the floor while people finish their drinks is not particularly polite. Obviously I understand that people want to get home on time, but if it says that they open till 9pm and then starting to clean at 8pm is a bit too early for me. Apart from that Planet Coffee is one of my favourite places in Hull and I am quite a regular here. There is a reward card where every 11th drink is free - which for me generally means at least one free drink per month. Oh, and if you wonder how the coffee is I have to admit to never having actually tried one. I am not a big coffee drinker but all my friends are happy with what they get served. There is the standard selection of style choice and -as with the hot choc - flavoured syrups can be added. They also offer decaf and soya milk if you ask for it. My advice though is certainly to try the hot chocs - you are almost guaranteed to get hooked on them! Read the complete review |
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Hotel Terravina (Southampton)
by grahamt For our special occasions we always try to seek out somewhere new to try, and to hell with the expense. In fact, many of those we have found have turned out to be exceptional value for money and most I have reviewed here, if you are looking for recommendations. For our anniversary I always try seek out either a restaurant with ... accommodation or a hotel with a well recommended restaurant. In the case of our most recent, it was the latter. Hampshire seems to have more than its fair share of good hotel/restaurants and Hotel Terravina would seem to be another of them. Not that it is perfect though, as you will see from our experiences. However, overall it turned out to be a more than satisfactory place for us to celebrate our anniversary. The hotel is situated in the New Forest though not in the heart of the forest, more on the outskirts, so to speak, in Woodlands, which is about half-way between Southampton and Lyndhurst. It isn't difficult to find though, although I had the advantage of having entered the postcode into Nokia Maps GPS on my mobile. It actually told me we had arrived about 100m short of our actual destination. The hotel is owned by Gerard and Nina Basset. Gerard has won the title of "Best Sommelier in the World", so we were expecting that the wine cellar would be impressive but pricey. He is also a co-founder of the Hotel du Vin Group. They took over the hotel in 2007 and set about turning it into a hotel of which they could be proud. On arrival, the evidence of the work that they have put in is obvious. When we arrived we were able to park our car in the shade, which, bearing in mind the weather (hot, sunny) was good thing; there is extensive parking available. Entrance is through what is probably the original main entrance but here we were surprised to find the "Reception" somewhat out-of-keeping with the appearance of the rest of the hotel: a simple office style desk, covered in a mess of paperwork, computers and printers; not exactly a professional image! However, the welcome could not have been warmer. We were issued with the key to our room but then discovered there was no lift, just a steep climb up a spiral staircase to the first floor. Lucky we didn't have more luggage! We were in Canteiro which, from the high ceiling and the huge window partly overlooking the garden, I assume is part of the original building. The window is old style sash but supplemented with internal secondary windows to provide some insulation. Sadly, all the windows had been limited in their ability to be opened so we had to make do with just the cracks for ventilation, not that the room was uncomfortably hot; it just would have been nice! The actual bedroom was very large, as was the bed. A wardrobe was just inside the door, with a full-length mirror fitted to its side, which was odd as you had to stand behind the door to use it, so risking being hit by the door opening! The other odd thing was the size of the one and only table in the room. This was located next to the door to the en suite bathroom, between it and the window. Above it a TV was bolted to the wall. The problem was the size of the table: it really was far too small and, in the space provided, could have been half as big again without any problem. As it was, trying to use it as a dressing table and somewhere to have a brew was pretty well impossible. This was not helped by the shear size of the lamp that stood on the table as well! The TV located above also made it very difficult to use a mirror, which my wife wanted to in order to do her make-up. All in all, this was probably the worst feature of the room and really does need to be changed. Otherwise, the room was very comfortable, with a small sofa at the end of the bed and another set in a small alcove opposite the bathroom. The bathroom itself was very nice, with a free-standing old-fashioned bath and a large walk-in shower occupying the width of the end of the room. Both of the rooms were very tastefully decorated and we enjoyed a very comfortable stay and a good night's sleep. But, we were mostly here for the food; the room was just so that we wouldn't have to worry about how we were going to get home afterwards. The restaurant is on the ground floor, past Reception and overlooking the garden though a wall of French Windows which, when open allow you out onto a covered veranda. The windows were closed on our visit as the evening was a bit cool for eating outside but I suspect that, had the weather been suitable, it would have been extremely enjoyable; I do like eating outdoors. However, we did have a seat right by the windows. We consulted the food and wine menus and the first thing I found was a wine that I didn't even know existed: a white Irouleguy, from the French Basque region of the Pyrenees. The red I have had many times; it's one of my all-time favourite wine styles. This had to be tried. The wine came from a producer by the name of Arretxea. It was superb, a little like a really top quality Voigner, such as Condrieu. I will be watching out for this again. We decided on the seafood with a starter of scallops and smoked trout and a main course of sea bream. Both were cooked and served perfectly and tasted delicious. The wine turned out to be a perfect accompaniment. Throughout, the service was just as I like it, attentive but not intrusive. After our meal we retired to the bar for nightcaps. I enjoy malt whiskies and they certainly had a good selection. I also examined the gins and, as expected, failed to find my favourites, Dutch Gins, especially Bols Oude Genever. Failing to find that I then looked for vodkas, never really expecting to find what I consider the World's Best Vodka - Schramm - which I've yet to find anywhere outside of Canada. In the end I settled for a Lagavulin whilst my wife had her customary black coffee. So, what's the verdict? Well, overall we did enjoy or stay and our celebration. Yes, at just under £400, it was expensive but then I wasn't expecting it to be cheap. You don't skimp on special occasions. Bear in mind though that the major part of the cost was the B&B, at £215. If that's all it was it would have been considered OTT. For this amount it would not represent good value for money. The drinks came to over £60 and, of this, the largest part was the wine. However, bearing in mind the "tasters" that we had at the bar whilst discussing the finer points of vodka and gin with the bartender, I suppose that there, we got good value for money. Would we return? Only for another special occasion and even then, probably not. There are lots of other hotel/restaurants that we have visited (and reviewed here) that offer every bit as good an experience at a far more reasonable price. However, as a once-in-a-lifetime treat, I certainly can recommend Hotel Terravina. Abridged version posted on TripAdvisor. Read the complete review |
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Strada Restaurant
by beauty88 I went to Strada last thursday with a few friends. None of us had ever tried any Strada restaurants before so thought we'd give it a try. ***Location*** It is located in the recently created Spinningfields area of Manchester, however isnt in the obvious centre part where the open air cinema is, but a few ... minutes round the back closer to the apartment blocks. Because this part of Spinningfields is slightly hidden from view it is as a result much quieter and was actually quite eerie, however it meant we could easily get a table in the place. ***Restaurant*** The restaurant was much bigger than I expected, it is a vast space including a large bar area and a long dining area stretching out along a glass wall of windows. I was really impressed by the look of the place and overall it looked modern and new. The furniture was modern looking and the tables well spaced out. We were given the choice of where to sit which was nice and we chose a table next to the window which was nice and light. We noticed that the place was very quiet, other than a few groups of young professionals who looked like they had come direct from work, the place was deserted. This was a good thing in some respects as we hadn't made a reservation, and I suppose I would prefer that to the place being packed, yet it was almost a bit too quiet! Luckily there was subtle music playing while we were there which broke the silence in the place a little. ***Drinks*** We decided we would share a bottle of wine with the meal. There was a nice choice of wines and 3 Rose wines to choose from which ranged from £17-£21 which was reasonable. The wine was brought by the waitress in a cooler and was poured out for us. We also asked for a jug of water which arrived chilled with ice and was also poured out. We were a bit disappointed that there weren't any cocktails on the menu. Most restaurants these days, particularly chains, have a few cocktails on the drinks menu so it was a shame they didn't as we may have stayed longer if this had been the case. ***Food*** We all decided to order starters so I chose the Arancini Ragu which are risotto balls containing beef & tomato ragu and mozzarella and coated in breadcrumbs. It was £4.50 for this starter and I was a little disappointed in it. I got 3 of the breaded balls presented on a small plate with no other garnish etc, so they looked a bit odd just sat there on their own. They were nice and hot and I enjoyed the mozzarella element and the breadcrumbs they were coated in, but I could barely detect the beef and tomato ragu which I could only just see if I looked closely and could barely taste. Also the balls weren't too big and with only 3 of them it wasn't a very big starter considering the price. For my main course I ordered the Rigatoni Siciliana which was rigatoni pasta servied in a tomato & basil sauce with aubergines, courgettes, peppers and finished with ricotta. This dish was £8.75 and worth every penny. To start with the portion was generous which was a relief considering the size of the starter. There was plenty of pasta served but also lots of aubergines, pepper and courgette pieces. I often find restaurants are quite sparing with the vegetables in pasta dishes, but that wasn't the case here where there was plenty of veg in my dish. Everything was cooked well and the dish was hot when it arrived. The vegetables had plenty of taste and had clearly been cooked properly and not boiled to death. The sauce was very tasty, particularly since it was simple tomato & basil sauce, it was very rich and enjoyable. I was also pleased with the ricotta which was a generous portion placed in the centre of the bowl and lasted me throughout the dish. Therefore overall I had mixed feelings about the food but the delicious main meal definitely made up for the slightly disappointing starter. ***Service*** Because the restaurant was so quiet, despite there only being a couple of waitresses they had plenty of time to see to everything we needed. The waitress was always present to take our order when we were ready, and empty plates were cleared away quickly but we never felt rushed. The food also arrived very quickly which was a relief as we were all hungry, but again I think this is due to how quiet the place was. The waitress was also very helpful telling us the special dishes of the day and was always polite with us. We never had any need to complain or ask for anything out of the ordinary so I can't comment on how this would be handled. ***Value*** We asked for the bill and it wad brought to us quickly. Considering we had 2 courses each and wine the bill was a reasonable price and worked out at roughly £20 each including a tip. I was more than happy to pay this amount for what had been an overall good meal. We all paid in cash which was straightforward. I thought the main course was on a par with a dish I would expect from a good Italian restaurant and the price was also similar. I wouldn't say this place is a complete bargain but for the quality of the food the price was very reasonable and good value. ***Cleanliness*** The restaurant and all crockery, cutlery and glassware was immaculate and new looking. Despite the place being new, it is still clear that it is kept very clean and tidy which showed when we were there and gave me confidence in the hygiene in the kitchen area. ***Overall Opinion*** Overall this is a very good restaurant which service generally good food (depending what you order) which appears to be made from fresh ingredients and cooked freshly. The service was very pleasing and I really liked the clean modern surroundings. The only downside of the place was the lack of atmosephere due to how quiet it was, which isnt a failing of the restaurant and out of their control, but did make the whole dining experience feel slightly awkward. I can imagine this would be even worse if you went as a couple. But other than this I have no complaints and would recommend this restaurant for a good quality Italian meal at good value. ***Contact Details*** 4a Leftbank Irwell Square, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3AN Tel: 0161 819 5691 Website: www.strada.co.uk/italian-restaurant/manc​hester-spinningfields Read the complete review |
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