Wales Restaurants / Cafes National
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Reviews
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The Station Restaurant (Llansantffraid)
by xd-o-n-z-x The other night a group of us (15 in total) went to The Station Restaurant to celebrate a couple of birthdays. The Station has recently opened, some months ago under new ownership having being closed for a couple of years previously. I am so pleased to see the restaurant back up on its feet as I used to enjoy going there and ... was so disappointed when it closed - seeing the building 'going', I thought that that would be the end of the restaurant. So as you can imagine I was delighted when I heard that it was back up and running. Having recently been re-opened, the restaurant has had a refurbishment and I must say it does look really lovely. The whole place has been decorated really beautifully - very modern yet at the same time still 'comfortable'. The restaurant has a lovely purple theme with lovely purple and black curtains, chunky wooden tables and comfortable wooden and padded chairs. There are also some very comfy leather sofas in the bar area. There is a lovely atmosphere in the restaurant - really homely and welcoming. It is really lovely and you can relax there as soon as you walk through the door. We had a pre-drink in the bar area. We had the place to ourselves and so it felt as though we could be as 'loud' (not that we were that loud), but as though we could enjoy ourselves without having to worry about being to noisy and upsetting other customers. As we were a large group, we had already pre-ordered our meals and so we didn't have to look at any menus (apart from desert). The restaurant has recently put up some 'glass walls' to shut the restaurant off from the rest of the area - I think this is because they have live music there quite often and so it means that the noise doesn't upset the customers dining in the restaurant. The restaurant consists of a long room. We had a long wooden table down the middle of the room - there are also tables of four along the walls. I ordered garlic mushrooms for starters, and being a vegetarian, I had the veggie lasagne - there was a beef lasagne available for meat-eaters. I had actually forgot what I had ordered for starters and so I thought that I was having goats cheese, however my friend kindly informed me that I had actually ordered garlic mushrooms (£4.95). I was actually expecting the mushrooms to be mushrooms covered in batter, although when it arrived, it was more like a soup with slices of mushrooms. It looked good and was full of flavour, however it wasn't really to my taste and so I only ate a little of it - in order to leave room for the lasagne I was so looking forward to. The two slices of garlic bread accompanying were very delicious and Moorish however. Our plates were cleared quickly - great, as I hate waiting around for plates to be cleared. So this was good as it meant that the main course would soon be on its way. Despite being a huge pasta fan, I am not that keen on lasagne apart from the ready-made Marks and Spencer's one which is gorgeous. So I wasn't sure what to expect. When my lasagne arrived - it was a huge portion and very attractive looking with lots of colour and a side salad. The lasagne was tasty and you could tell that it was homemade. Whilst it was nice and I could eat it, there wasn't anything 'wow' about it, although I did enjoy it. The chef had certainly made the best out of the ingredients and there were lots of pieces of vegetables such as carrots in it which were really nice. When we pre-ordered, we had to choose whether we wanted chips, mash potato or new potatoes. I chose new potatoes. However, when the side dishes arrived, they had made enough chips, mash and new potatoes for everyone - so that was good as it meant that we could have a serving of each if we wanted. There was also lots of vegetables - mainly consisting of carrots and peas. I found the lasagne to be very filling and surprisingly (very surprisingly) for me, I was too full for pudding. I AM NEVER TOO FULL FOR PUDDING! However, there was lots of puddings to choose from; sticky toffee pudding (my favourite - yet it would have been too heavy), jam roly poly, raspberry meringues, cheesecake (3 different choices) and cheese. I think everyone was full because only around 6 out of the 15 of us had puddings, however the ones that did said that they were lovely. The staff were nice and friendly - young they were. However, they weren't that professional- they were nice and kept asking if everything was ok and whether they could get us anything else so that was good enough for me. Whilst the service was quick, it wasn't rushed which was good. For two courses the price was £14.90. I had also bought a wine and a pint of cider and that came to around £4. So all in all, good value for money. I really enjoyed the evening and the fact that we had the place to ourselves was really nice as it meant that it was private and that we were 'in control' of the evening, rather than the chefs being in control (e.g depending how many tables they have in etc). The toilets are large and very clean - however there are only 2 so there may be queuing at times. I love the 'old fashioned' sinks in the toilets. I would definitely recommend this restaurant - it is a lovely place! It is suitable for all occasions whether it be a birthday party for a teenager, a family meal or any other kind of event. They also have live music and karaoke regularly. By the way, it is called 'The Station' because it used to be an old train station, and where you sit in the restaurant is actually where the platform was, so it is an interesting place as well as a lovely place to eat. Thanks for reading! October 2011 Xd-o-n-z-x / xdonzx Read the complete review |
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The Barn Eating House (Gwynedd)
by benz2922 The first ever time we visited Pwllheli we really struggled to find a decent place to eat, there were restaurants that you could immediately tell from the exterior were not adapt to serving toddlers or that the customer's inside did not want a squabbling 2 year old ruining their evening. Then you had other places such as chip shops and ... deli bars but nothing suitable for a toddler + an evening meal. We had walked all the streets of the town centre before stopping at the barn, it was a place we had walked past previously but one that we had assumed wasn't open by the serious lack of customer's. Upon entering the barn you are greeted with a number of outside tables all sheltered by several large gazebos, near the entrance to the building itself is a small outside bar/serving hatch. When we arrived a waitress came over and gave us some menus and then we shown ourselves to some seats. We sat outside as it was a reasonably nice day, we were the only people outside but I assumed people were sat inside instead however upon going to the toilet inside I realised we were the only people in the entire place! Inside the building itself is what I can only describe as strange, it looks and feels like a pub except it doesn't have a bar or a place to order food, the only place to do this is outside. There are numerous tables inside, I would say it could fit 50+ people yet it was empty. Access to the toilets was also strange, down a long corridor; the atmosphere of the place was rather spooky. To put it simply, it felt very comfortable to be outside within easy reach of the exit! After a very non promising start we sat back down and proceeded to order. The menus themselves are ample. There is a wide choice, most food choices being your average pub grub. The children's menus are similar, they are what you would expect to find at a pub with a choice of fish fingers, burgers, chicken nuggets etc., all served with a side portion of chips. Everything about the place echo's pub, apart from the fact that it's not. The choice of beverages backs this up, there is not much of an alcoholic range, mainly your simple pints of beer. They do serve fruit shoots for the children which is a plus point but back to a negative being that the soft drinks such as Pepsi are sold in cans, you are provided with a glass but it's more of the point of having to pour your own drink that leaves me rather dissatisfied. After ordering, our food arrived within 10 minutes which was helpful with having a toddler on board, my chicken burger and chips was surprisingly very nice, there was a full chicken breast on my burger and the chips were lovely and soft. My partners Curry looked lovely and he did give it high recommendations and my daughter's chicken nuggets and chips came with a side portion of peas and the portions were very generous. The food was definitely starting to make up for the disappointing start and the very eerie atmosphere. For desert my daughter has a special ice cream which came inside a toy cow, I think she preferred the cow but either way she enjoyed it. Me and my partner shared a chocolate muffin covered in chocolate sauce with a mix of chocolate and vanilla ice cream and I have to say it was the best desert I have ever tried. The prices of the food are also very generous, I don't know individual prices but for a full meal + deserts and drinks for the three of us we spent no more that £25.00. This I thought was pretty good. The menu also has a selection of other foods including, sandwiches, Panini's and other light meals such as those, there is also a carvery every Sunday which I have never been to so I don't know if that ups the atmosphere and the number of customers at all. Since our first visit we have been back several times, mainly because it is the only place that I feel comfortable taking a toddler and also because despite everything I really do think the food is lovely. The atmosphere hasn't changed since that first visit unfortunately. The last time we went was 2 weeks ago on our last visit to pwllheli, despite there being several people sat outside it was a very cold day so we chose to sit inside for the first time. This action was soon regretted as we were the only people sat inside the entire building, that was awkward if not a little embarrassing! On the plus side however, the food comes so quickly that we can be in and out within 45 minutes avoiding spending much time in the eerie place as possible. I am going to recommend that people pay it a visit because if more people started going there it could be a very nice place, the staff are all very welcoming and the food is lovely it is just the dreary atmosphere that is a big put off. But if you can look past that it has very nice food at very reasonable prices, it is also a great place for toddlers because you don't have to worry about them spoiling other customers meals with their tantrums ..... because there are none! Read the complete review |
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The Coconut Kitchen (Abersoch)
by Wickedinrock Coconut Kitchen is a popular Thai restaurant in Abersoch, North Wales. My mum absolutely loves it and books us in every time we go to Abersoch and last week we visited as a family. The restaurant opened in 2007 and is owned by a couple who started by selling Thai food from a van on a camp site. Since then the restaurant has gone from ... strength to strength, expanded their menu and relocated to a small restaurant on the edge of Abersoch village and have since opened another restaurant in Bangor just under an hour away. Spending as little time in Abersoch as I do these days, I still think of Coconut Kitchen as quite a new restaurant but it has been going strong for four years and always seems to be busy. === The restaurant === Located in Abersoch, a small village in North Wales, the Coconut Kitchen overlooks the harbour and is less than a minute from the beach. It has become a popular place for dining for a range of customers from young couples and groups of teenagers to families. The restaurant itself is fairly small, with just one room which is decorated with dark wooden furniture and oriental laps and designs. It is all quite modern which is unsurprising given that it is still quite new. The tables and space are versatile and the staff are happy to arrange them depending on the size of the party. We booked in advance for our table of eight as it would be difficult to fit us in on the night and it is advisable to do this during the summer holidays or at the weekend. There are a few stools at the bar where patrons can sit and have a drink and when the weather is nice they put a few tables outside for customers. The location opposite the beach and on the way into the village is ideal for those who are wanting to sit outside with a drink on a sunny day. === On the menu === As soon as we were given the menus we were salivating at the wonderful sounding food. After five minutes of discussing starters and who fancied what, mum took the decision to order two of the sharing starters between the eight of us. The platters contained 10 items which included spare ribs, pork prawn toast, dim sum, vegetable spring rolls and chicken satay. The platters were £17.50 which we thought was good value as individual starters were around £6-7 each. We also ordered two large portions of prawn crackers with sweet Thai chilli sauce. The menu recommended one sharing starter between two people but we had one between four and that was plenty along with all the prawn crackers! I ordered the Kha Ped Grob for my main course; a ginger, cinnamon and garlic confit duck leg, pan fried for a crisp finish. It was served with a delicious soy & star anise sauce and was supposed to come with egg noodles which I don't like but they were happy to replace it with another side. Instead I asked for the sweet potato chips which looked like flat round discs and tasted delicious! I did notice that the portion was significantly smaller than the one that came with my dad's meal but I was very happy and even though £15.50 is quite expensive, it was worth every penny. I noticed that the menu was the same as it was back in April when I had the Pork Belly served with crackling. It was a great meal at the same price but was only served with vegetables and no rice or accompaniment on the side. Even though the menu hadn't changed, the prices had with all meals rising 50 pence in price! Three members of our group had the Chicken Pad Thai which the waitress mentioned was by far the most popular thing on the menu. At £11.90 it was great value as the portion was huge and contained rice noodles, bean sprouts, spring onion, egg, vegetables and ground peanuts stir fried in a tamarind sauce. My cousins Sam and Gaby had the King Prawn Pad Thai for their main and agreed that it was delicious, although Gaby had to leave half of it because she wasn't feeling well after a day out in the scorching sun! My partner Alex had the Thai green curry with chicken which again went down well. It was one of the cheapest things on the menu at £9.95 and dish was made of sliced chicken breast and fresh vegetables cooked with lemongrass, lime leaves, green chilli paste and coconut milk and garnished with Thai sweet basil and red chilli. He thought that the meal was excellent but was slightly disappointed that it was not as spicy as he would have liked considering the menu stated that it was medium-hot. Being the boring eater he is, dad opted for his favourite meal of sirloin steak which at Coconut Kitchen was served with a chilli, garlic & sweet basil sauce, mixed vegetables and crispy sweet potato chips. At £18.50 it was the most expensive item on the menu but the size of the steak and sides of vegetable and sweet potato chips made it worth it. The steak came with lots of sauce which dad doesn't usually like but in this case thought it was excellent. It was served medium as requested and was tasty and tender. === Staff at Coconut Kitchen === We walked into the restaurant and told the bar tender the name we had booked under. Coconut Kitchen is such a small restaurant that there was no need to be shown to our table, the bar tender just pointed to it! There were three waitresses who also tended the bar and that was more than enough for the nine tables in the restaurant. It was always easy to get the attention of the waitresses as there was always someone near enough to us. We ordered drinks early on and the service was quick but as a group of eight we took a while to decide on our food which the staff didn't seem to mind. I asked if I could change the side dish with my meal which they were fine with and they were happy to bring over drinks as and when we ordered them which was never quite at the same time! It was boiling hot outside and they brought over jugs of ice water without asking which was much appreciated, especially by the sickly cousin! The owner came out towards the end to take away our plates and ask how the meal was which I thought was a nice touch. === Other information === With the restaurant itself being so small it made sense that there was only one male and one female toilet. I can only vouch for the female toilet which was large and clean and just very pleasant. The picture on the wall was a nice addition and made it quite homely. The restaurant is at street level and is fully accessible for wheelchairs and those with mobility issues. Lon Pont Morgan, Abersoch, Gwynedd. LL53 7AN. Tel: 01758 712250 Email: enquiries@thecoconutkitchen.co.uk Web: www.thecoconutkitchen.co.uk The Coconut Kitchen also provides a food take away service and they also sell sauces, marinades and recipes to take home. There are a few car parking spaces outside the restaurant although the location on the edge of the village encourages the locals to walk. === Overall === Coconut Kitchen is one of the most popular places to dine in Abersoch and rightly so. It consistently serves good food and is so different from the pub meals and Italians that I normally visit when I'm there. We have had numerous great meals at Coconut Kitchen as a family and it's somewhere my mum always takes her friends and it has become her favourite place it eat. Even though there are only nine tables it could easily move to larger premises in the village and still attract a full crowd. One of the best things about the restaurant is the relaxed atmosphere. It is suitable for a nice evening meal but its location opposite the beach and the casual setting means that people can stroll in after a day sunbathing, although this type of atmosphere is typical throughout Abersoch. One of the best things about Coconut Kitchen is definitely the staff who are always pleasant and attentive without lurking around the table making the guests feel uncomfortable which is a pet hate of mine! I've heard a few people say that the restaurant lacks someone on front of house to welcome guests but with such a small restaurant it really wouldn't be worth it. It really is a lovely place to eat and I would recommend it for any visitors to Abersoch. There really isn't anything negative to say about Coconut Kitchen but it isn't quite special and flawless enough for the 5 star rating. I will give it 4 stars but a full recommendation! Read the complete review |
Wales Restaurant / Cafe National |
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1 review Restaurant / Cafe National / Address: 10 High Street, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales |
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Restaurant / Cafe National / Address: Fortune Court,42 High Street,Welshpool,Powys,SY21 7JQ |
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1 review Thai / Restaurant / Cafe National / Address: The Coconut Kitchen / Lon Pont Morgan / Abersoch / Pwllheli / Gwyned LL53 7AN |
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1 review Cuisine: European a la Carte / Restaurant / Cafe National / Address: Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, Mid Wales, LD5 4ST / Tel: 01591 610248 |
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Restaurant / Cafe National / Type: Bangladesh and Indian cuisine |
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1 review Address: Marine Drive / Restaurant / Cafe National / Great Orme / Llandudno LL30 2XD / Tel: 01492 870004 |
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Address: 11 High Street / Restaurant / Cafe National / St Davids / Pembrokeshire / SA62 6SB / Telephone: 01437 721778 |
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Address: 1 Cathays Ter / Restaurant / Cafe National / Cathays / Cardiff CF24 4HS / Tel: 029 2066 5000 |
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Address: 134 Whitchurch Rd / Restaurant / Cafe National / Cardiff / CF14 3LZ / Tel: +44(0)2920 620 333 |
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Address: 41 Whitchurch Road / Restaurant / Cafe National / CF14 3NA / Cardiff / Wales / +44 29 2061 9988 |
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