Sufi Persian Restaurant 70 Askew Rd, London W12 9BJ

Last Saturday myself and 5 friends went to the Sufi Persian restaurant near Hammersmith for a meal and a get together.

 

One of us had a guide dog and there is no problem taking a guide dog into this restaurant.

 

For starters I had Olivieh   which describes itself on the menu as a Delicate mixture of shredded chicken, potato, green peas, gherkins, eggs & mayo.  This was certainly an interesting dish though I would have liked the gherkins to have more prominence..  I am also told that the  Hummus was good though I must admit I can’t remember what everyone else had.

 

For my main dish I had 2 kinds of lamb.  There was a spicy fairly aromatic portion of minced lamb  in 2 thick sausage shapes and a slice of flat lamb about half an inch thick.  This was served with rice and salad. 

We also had freshly baked Persian  flat Nan bread with  sesame seeds which was delicious.

 

For pudding I had a portion of baklava   which is nuts sugar and phyllo pastry  followed by a portion of faloodeh  which is Persian sorbet made of thin vermicelli noodles and rose water served with lemon.

 

2 portions of dessert is a bit greedy but it finished a pleasant and very filling meal off nicely.  Next time I go to a Persian restaurant I will try the stews which sound interesting.

 

The staff at this restaurant speak good English so they were able to explain some of the kebab dishes which sound rather similar to each other.  I would give this restaurant 8 out of 10 as we paid about £23 each for 3 courses and a soft drink and we were all well full.

 

Palmers Restaurant 238 Roman Road London E2 0RY

Palmers is a new British/European restaurant which opened about 2 years ago on Roman Road.  For anyone who knows the area it used to be Winkle’s seafood restaurant.  It is run by a Czech family.  The father works front of house and his sons are the chefs.

 

I visited this restaurant along with my friend and semi regular eating companion on a Monday Miss S for a meal.  Starters cost between £4 and £7 and mains cost between £8 and £20.  The menu changes approximately once every 3 weeks.

 

There were 5 starters including Mackerel with a horse radish sauce, Pork and Black Pudding Terrine with home made piccalilli, Charcuterie    (mixture of cooked cured meats)with pickles, Garlic Prawns and  Buillabaisse (French fish stew).

 

I chose Pork and Black Pudding Terrine and miss S chose Garlic Prawns.  Both portions were reasonably generous.  The Pork and black pudding terrine was served with a mixture of pickled vegetables including green beans, cucumber, cauliflower and pickled onions.  Both dishes came with good quality fresh bread and butter.  The terrine was meaty with good quality black pudding and the prawns were cooked with plenty of garlic.  Over all we were both very satisfied with the starters and I would have happily chosen any of them.

 

The mains included 3 different steaks i.e. rump, ribeye or fillet all served with home made chips and salad, Piri-Piri chicken with new potato salad,  Lamb cutlets on a bed of puy lentils, Lemon Dover Sole, and vegetable   risotto made into balls, fried in breadcrumbs and served in a tomato sauce.

 

Miss S and myself both opted for steaks.  I had the 10 ounce ribeye steak which was beautifully tender.  It came with home made chunky chips and salad.  The chips were crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.    The steak was also served with a pot of Chimichurri and a pot of Béarnaise  sauce because I wanted to try both! Chimichurri sauce is similar to salsa and Béarnaise  sauce is clarified butter emulsified in egg yolks with various flavourings including shallots, Chervil, peppercorn  and    Tarragon.  It has the consistency of slightly thin mayonnaise with a very buttery slightly peppery flavour.  I preferred the Chimichurri.  I also had Sauerkraut as a side dish which was nice but slightly under flavoured compared to German versions of this dish that I have tried.

 

The whole meal was in general perfectly cooked and while at £16 for the steak it might not be the cheapest 10 ounce ribeye I have eaten, it was among the nicest I have ever had.

 

Miss S had the fillet steak and she also says it was beautifully tender.

 

For dessert I had chocolate pudding.  This was really a  chocolate fondant pudding.  The outside was hard and the inside was beautifully rich.  It was clearly made with dark chocolate.  Miss S also had this and found the chocolate to be a bit strong and overpowering.  It really was a chocolate lover’s dream.  Miss S also opted for a second dessert.  She had an apple crumble with pistachio  custard.  She did not seem that keen on this pudding but I was too full to try it.

 

We shared a bottle of fairly pleasant drinkable southafrican red wine which cost about £16

And had an Irish coffee each.  A 3 course meal each with whine and a liqueur coffee will set you back about £40 but the quality of food was excellent and the owner of the restaurant was talkative and knowledgeable about his food.  I am told a Sunday roast costs about £10.95 so I am going to try it in the next few weeks.

 

I give this restaurant 7.5 out of 10.  I would have liked some slightly more unusual main dishes though I could have easily had any of the starters or desserts no matter what the menu.  There are only 5 or 6 dishes for each course so this may not be the ideal restaurant for fussy eaters.

 

I will be visiting this restaurant again without a doubt and I am looking  forward to it. 

The Peterboat, 27 High Street, Old Leigh, SS9 2EN

The Peterboat is a pub owned by the East Anglia Pub Company situated in Old Leigh which is a part of Leigh on Sea near \Southend.  I visited this restaurant with 2 people, Louise and Tina, last night for food and a few beers.

 

I am told that in the summer this pub gets very  busy with tourists but on a Monday in mid march it was pretty quiet.  There were 4 different ales on offer and the Brewers Gold brewed by Crouch Vale brewery was very well kept.  It is the food however that really made this pub stand out.  Portions were very generous and all of us were really quite satisfied with 2 courses.  The food is quite traditional British fare using a touch of wine and garlic to make things a little more exotic.  Starters cost £5 to £7 and mains are £10 up to £18 or so for some steaks.  This is good basic restaurant food but the size of the portions are generous.

 

For starters, Louise had garlic prawns which were cooked in garlic and white wine.  They come with their heads still on but the kitchen staff happily  removed them on request.  Tina and myself had Cockle Leak  and smoked fish chowder.  This was  locally caught cockles, smoked white fish and leeks with bacon and some other vegetables in a thick soup which was more like a stew.  This was served with bread.  It really was a small meal in itself.  We opted for the small starter portion but I understand it is available in a larger portion for a main meal.  The garlic and white wine sauce used  in this dish helped give it a real warm rich hearty taste with bags of flavour.  I don’t generally like cockles from seafood stalls as they tend to be full of grit and they often come in vinegar which I am also not keen on.  I’m glad though that I tried this dish.  I understand the Peterboat is famous for this chowder and that’s totally fine by me. It’s well worth a try!  It’s also worth pointing out that there is an on site cockle shed selling cockles to eat on the premises or to take away.

 

Other starters included white bait, soup of the day, prawn and salmon cocktail and   breaded mushrooms

 

For the main course, Louise had a dish called Peterboat Drunken Chicken  which consisted of chicken in a thick sauce wrapped in bacon.  I think the sauce was quite sweet though I had so much of my own food to eat that I didn’t really try it.  Tina had lamb  Kleftiko which is essentially slow cooked shoulder of lamb.  She said it fell off the bone and was extremely tender.

 

For my main course I had calves’ liver and bacon served with mash  and shallot and red wine sauce.  I also got a dish of vegetables containing cauliflower, carrots and spiced German style red cabbage.  The liver was, as you would imagine, very tender.  The bacon was of good quality and the mash was smooth and creamy.  It was really like very good quality home cooking and I can’t really fault it. 

 

Other main dishes included Lancashire hot pot, Irish stew, home made chicken pie, fish stew, fish and chips, Cajun fish cakes  and belly pork.   we all left the restaurant bursting full, unsure whether a sleep or a walk would be the best thing in the world!  In reality, Louise and Tina had to get home to Southend and I had to get the train back to London so we walked about quarter of a mile or so to Leigh on Sea station and went our separate ways all full and happy with the meal.

 

I did try for dessert but they were all heavy school dinner desserts such as apple pie, fruit crumble, treacle sponge and custard, etc.  there was also a gateaux   I believe as well.  I decided in the end I was just too full to eat anymore!

 

Our experience at this pub and restaurant was very enjoyable.  I liked the fact that the food area was kept separate from the bar.  The restaurant and bar were not far away, there was indeed an adjoining door.  I do think however that keeping the bar and the food a little separate is a good idea which allows the Peterboat to be both a good pub and a restaurant so that those who just want a drink still feel quite welcome.

 

We were almost the only people in the restaurant though a few people did come in later on.  Staff were still very attentive and helpful and they were happy to help us read the menu and answer any questions.  In fact, Tina was able to read the menu but it is good that they offered.

 

In summary, the Peterboat should be seen as a pub with a restaurant attached.  The prices are typical of a mid range restaurant and the food is somewhat better quality than typical pub food with good home made dishes  served in very generous portions.  We paid £33 each for 2 courses and 3 drinks each.  Louise had 3 hot chocolates with whisky and Tina and myself had 2 pints of brewers gold and an Irish coffee each.  I suspect the drinks would have cost about £12 a head    for tina and myself with Louise’s drinks costing maybe £15 so I would say that the 2 generous courses cost us about £20 each.

 

Staff were helpful but then the pub and restaurant were not busy on a Monday evening.  I would give this restaurant an 8 out of 10 for now.  if the service remains as good when the pub is busy then it would certainly deserve a 9.  There  could perhaps be a better variety of starters, but this is splitting hairs somewhat.  If you are in the area then the Peterboat is definitely worth a visit.

 

Lollipop Diner 169 Mile End Road, Stepney Green, London E1 4AQ

This is a relatively new restaurant that used to be called Halal Bite.  It is almost next to Stepney Green Underground station and it is one of the better cheap eats establishments in the area.  Halal Bite shut early last year and it has now been taken over by new owners who renamed it.  It describes itself as an American restaurant but the Bangladeshi owners also make their mark very clear on this restaurant though they do serve some distinctive food that makes them a cut above the rest of the chicken slop shops in the area.

 

They do sell chicken slop.  They do fried chicken and shish kebabs that have that local taste as well as very low quality lamb doner meat but there are numerous saving graces.

 

I have been quite ill for the first 2 months of this year so I have not been out that much.  This eatery provided me with a very welcome break while on the way back from the co-op when I had a chest infection. Staff are generally quite friendly and they are reasonably quick to serve you.  they sell average quality fresh ground coffee and a range of cakes.  They also sell a decent selection of ice cream and they make milk shakes using chocolate such as maltesers, flakes and snickers bars.  These trends have  caught on in some of the posher Bangladeshi restaurants though few are worth travelling any distance to.  This place at least smells clean and staff seem to speak enough English to be helpful.

 

The Lollipop Diner does have distinctive features however.  They make their own beef and chicken burgers for a very reasonable £3.45 for a half pounder.  These burgers are made with 100 percent beef and are in my opinion at least as good as anything you would get in Burger King.  You can buy them as a meal deal with chips but the chips are just average quality fries and are nothing special.  They also sell hot dogs which come with sausages similar to jumbo sausages available from many chip shops.  They are typical chip shop low quality but better than most hot dogs you buy from mobile vans etc.

 

They also sell a range of curries but I am yet to try these.

 

Lollipop Diner is probably not worth travelling to though if the curries turn out to be exceptional I will of course update this.  It is however quite clean.  It sells a good range of food including decent burgers and ice cream.  It does a reasonable cup of coffee for £1.55 and it’s generally one of the best places in the area.

 

The food is a bit variable so I give Lollipop Diner an over all mark of 6 out of 10 with some things such as the burgers being worth 8 while other foods such as chicken dishes being worth a 5 and the doner kebabs are worth no more than 4.

I have not visited this place yet with anyone that has a guide dog but if this is a problem I will of course produce an update.