King Eddies, 47 Broadway, Stratford, London E15 4BQ

 

This pub is actually called King Edward VII but all locals know it as King Eddies and the website is actually www.kingeddie.co.uk

 

I visited this pub with a friend on Sunday.  A policeman guiding me across the road recommended the chips saying they were home made and cooked in goose fat.  My friend and myself  therefore ordered fish and chips which at £11 was rather expensive.

 

 

King Eddies is really a gastro pub though it is a lot more relaxed and pub like than many.  During our visit there was a pub quiz and people were also enjoying what seemed to be a rather posher do in the function room upstairs.  The beers on offer included 2 from Warys and I think Marsdens pedigree.  There also seemed to be a wide range of spirits available.  At £3.20 a pint it was not that cheap but the prices are by no means unheard of in London.  Staff were very helpful and they read us out the menu.  Waiting time at the bar was short even when the pub was quite busy.  These were all good signs and had it not been for the food I would have given it 7.5 out of 10.  There are pubs with a bigger range of ale at cheaper prices which would have upped  the score further.

 

Coming back   to the food, I was disappointed to find that the fish came with thin fries.  No sign of home made chips cooked in goose fat!  The fish was large  but although the batter was quite thin  there was more batter than fish.

 

The meal was advertised as coming with mushy  peas.  This meant a little pot of peas ground do a pure mixed with mint and a few other things in a small pot.  If your going to do northern style mushy peas do it properly otherwise just stick to a portion of garden peas or similar.  The home made Tartar sauce was nice.  It had capers in it.

 

The size of the portion was large on the whole and so it should be for £11.  I just felt that quality was rather lacking.  I can have fries in McDonalds  for much less money.

 

This pub does sell other food such as Venison so maybe at some point I will go back there, but I will be on the lookout for other reviews.

 

Given the poor quality of the food I can only give this pub 5.5 out of 10.  If I can get something of better quality then the mark could easily go up by another couple of points.

 

 

Zanes 588 Mile End Road, London E3 4PH

Zanes used to be the Mile Stone which used to be a pub. No alcohol there now however. It’s one of the many halal restaurants in the area.

This restaurant sells a typical range of curries, starters and other Bangladeshi/Indian food but it also sells steaks as well along with a range of desserts. One person who worked there, the owner I believe, spoke great English and he was knowledgeable and helpful. His colleague, however who served me first, seemed to speak virtually no English. He seemed unable to read the menu and it took a lot of coaxing to get details of the food available out of him. Normally I would have turned straight around and left. I am blind and I cannot read their menu and I do have a problem with staff who choose to live and work in a restaurant when they can’t even speak enough of the language to read a menu. As it was I did not ask the price, but more of this later. A friend told me this restaurant looked nice so rather than just walking out I bit my tongue and persevered.

This meal formed the only food intake of the day so I was out for a big feed! I was curious about what the steak would be like so I ordered this first. It came with nicely cooked new potatoes in their skins. They were sold to me as roast potatoes but never mind, they were nice. The steak came with peppers, onions, pieces of cauliflower and a few carrots. So, the accompaniments were fine. The steak was another matter. It was tough and maybe slightly over cooked. Certainly it was rather dry. I am told that Halal meat tends to have all blood drained from it but surely, steak needs some blood. I’m no expert so can’t say if this was the problem but whatever the problem the steak was a disgrace. They could have at least tenderised it.

I still decided to go with some more typical food however to see how it was prepared. I had a portion of sheek kebabs, that’s the mince kebabs in a sausage shape. The kebabs were juicy and fresh. The samosas were well filled and pleasantly spiced and generally much better than the steak.

I then went for dessert. I chose the Halva and what was supposed to be a Crème Brulé. The Crème Brullé was nice though it was in fact a Crème Caramel rather than the Crème Brullé which is thick custard type stuff under a hard caramel lid in a bowl. Crème Caramel is a bit like a caramelised egg custard. The Halva contained chocolate and was nice and gloopy. I do not know what Halva should be like so I can’t comment on authenticity. For drinks I had 2 glasses of lemonade which just came from a plastic bottle.

My bill came to £31.00. With the exception of the steak, the food was very good. The owner spoke good English and was helpful. However the steak was dreadful, the Crème Brullé was not as it should have been and the other staff were not knowledgeable and service didn’t seem to be part of their culture. I therefore give this restaurant 4.5 out of 10. The food does show some good potential however. The quality of some of the food does make me want to go back but this will be either with a sighted person who can read the menu or if not, I will only eat if I can get the help of a staff member who speaks good enough English to go through the menu with me.

Lexus cafe mile end road

This is a new Moroccan café that has recently opened on Mile End road.

 

Inside the seating is quite low and there are pillows to lean on.  The range of products sold however seems to be very poor.  They do not have any kind of on-site kitchen yet so the food is cooked outside and just warmed up when you want it.  When I visited they seemed to have a lamb or a chicken tagine, a salad with onions pickle beetroot   and lettuce.  There were also muffins   available as well as coffee, hot chocolate and cold drinks.

 

I understand the boss is trying to buy up the rest of the building but tenants live there so it may be a while.  I always think a restaurant where the food is not cooked on the premises is a bit suspect.

 

I had the Lamb Tagine with the salad and some bread which was all quite pleasant though I would have liked a little more choice.  The coffee I had was poor.  The first one was very weak and the second one, while somewhat better, was still not a top class coffee.  It was a bit weak.

 

Until this café gets a bigger range I can’t give it more than 5 out of 10.  There needs to be more choice and the coffee needs to improve.

 

 

King William iv 816 Leyton High Road London E10 6AE

When you first walk in to this pub it has the atmosphere of many a typical local.  It is carpeted and the radio is playing quietly in the background.  We wondered in there just before mid day and not surprisingly at that time it was quiet.  If you like your real ale however this pub is well worth a visit.  It has a micro brewery attached which brews a wide range of beers including hoppy light coloured ales and strong robust stouts.  At £1.99 this represents great value for money.  The food comprises a range of British favourites, sausage and mash, steak, mixed grill,  burgers, cottage pie etc.  The quality of the mixed grill I had was very acceptable though I probably wouldn’t visit this pub just for the food though the most expensive dishes, the mixed grill and the steak cost £7 and dishes such as 3 Cumberland sausages and mash cost £4.99 which is very reasonable.  With all the beers costing £1.99 however it is this along with the unusual ingredients used in many of the beers which really makes this pub stand out.  For more information about the beers and the brewery visit www.brodiesbeers.co.uk

 

I found the staff and the locals in this pub to be very friendly and I am definitely looking forward to returning to it in the near future.  I give this pub 8 out of 10 and highly recommend it.

 

 

Tyepyedong Noodle Bar, 175 Sidwell Street, Exeter EX4 6RH

tyepyedong   is a small café that describes itself as selling oriental fusion food - a mix of Japanese and Chinese food with other Asian influences.  This is a good description and it is quite similar to places like Wagamama but it is smaller and it feels less impersonal than Wagamama while food is generally cheaper and portions are good.

 

More information including menus can be found at http://www.tyepyedong.com/tyepyedong.com_website/Homepage.html

 

For starters I had duck spring rolls and a Miso soup which is a Japanese soup that shouldhave bits of spring onion and tofu in it.  This soup had the right taste but with no bits in.  Right idea but not quite of the quality of some other miso soup I have had but then the price was cheaper!  The duck spring rolls were like the kind I have had in thai restaurants.  They were a little bit spicy and they came with a small salad garnish.

 

For the main course I had Wandering Dragon which was a mildly spiced dish with beef, prawns and chicken in it with various vegetables and sticky rice.  I also had warm Saki with this which is a Japanese wine made with rice.

 

This is decent relatively healthy food that you can eat for well under £10 for 2 courses.  It is served quickly and staff were helpful.  I have had better but paid more for it and I think Tyepyedong would compete very well with some of the noodle bars found in London and it would beet the noodle king in Bethnal Green hands down!

 

So, top marks for speed helpfulness of staff and value for money.  You should not be expecting anything like real Chinese or Japanese food but you will find strong echos of these in a no fuss eating environment where customers are made welcome.

 

I would give this café 7.5 out of 10.

 

La Perla, Charlotte Street, London

I visited this restaurant 2 weeks ago for a friend’s birthday meal.  The website does not seem to give me the info about the location in a form I can read so Charlotte street will have to do.  The nearest station is Goodge street.

 

Staff were generally helpful but it was perhaps a little pricey.

from a food point of view I have always found Mexican places to sell various kinds of wrap such as soft tacos, burritos or chimachangas filled with mince that tastes like average chili concarne with lots of tomato in or spicy chicken. There was always lots of cheese, refried beans, rice, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. I haven't been to a Mexican for 10 years or so as far as I remember. Today I had Chorizo sausage with smoked chilli mayo as a starter.  This was a generous portion served  with a nice smoky reasonably spicy mayo.  For main I had Surf and Turf Fajitas which contained steak, prawns and scallops. You had to role them yourself which was a little messy perhaps and that main came on 4 plates, the meat and fish nicely sizzling in the pot it was cooked in with a nice spicy sauce, a plate of guacamole and Salsa, a plate with refried beans and some thin pancakes a bit like the ones you get in a Chinese to rool duck in. All ingredients that you would expect were present but no rice or cheese and not too much sour cream either.  This was a really nice main dish but at £17 it was a little on the expensive side.  The staff did not seen too keen on promoting the pudding. Maybe they wanted us out but I had 2 scoops of rice pudding to finish which may have been chocolate but can’t remember.

 

So in short staff were ok, prices were on the high side and food was  better than a lot of Mexican I have had.  I give this restaurant 7 out of 10.  If I was invited by someone on a birthday I would happily go to this restaurant but I would not travel miles on my own just to seek it out either.

 

Over all I give La Perla 7 out of 10.

 

The Clipper, 33-34 The Strand, Exmouth Ex8 1AQ

This is a part of a chain of pubs run by a company called Smith and Jones.  They are like a number of other companies who have taken the wetherspoons  idea and modified it.  This particular pub plays music which becomes somewhat loud after about 9 in the evening and people can dance.  I describe it as modern cheesy club style with quite a lot of tracks remixed.

 

Before then, the pub really is like a wetherspoons with quiet music.  When I went to the Clipper with 3 friends at about 9 o’clock yesterday evening we were told that there was a beer festival and that there were 4 ales on.  Not a massive selection.  I had Brains SA from Cardiff which is a pleasant enough pint.  It cost £2.20 and even if this pub did 2 or 3 real ales all the time I would still say it is worth going for if you want cheap but reasonable fodder.

 

I had chicken strips for starter which were a bit like chicken dippers in burger king.  These are made with mostly chicken I think covered in a spicy southern fried style coating served with a sweet mayo type of sauce.  Another friend had the Indian delight which had onion barji, vegetable Samosa  and Pakora with a spicy dip.  It seems that many starters and mains came with a salad of cherry tomatoes, red onion, lettuce served with a mayo that seemed to be flavoured with a hint of mint and mustard though I can’t remember how the dressing was described on the menu.  One friend had a burger and chips which he liked and I had a baguette with slow cooked shredded pork, barbecue sauce and apple sauce also served with chips.

 

Yes I was the only one greedy or hungry enough to have 2 courses.  My baguette was toasted and fairly crisp with a generous filling of very shredded but tender pork with a generous but not over the top portion of both apple and barbecue sauce.  Often I have found that baguettes  in wetherspoons pubs taste as though they have just been thrown in the microwave for 30 seconds.  They are often quite soggy.

 

This is not gourmet food but it was freshly cooked food and the menu was varied and well rounded with meals to suit most people including chicken tikka masala, sausage and mash, ham egg and chips, fish and chips and bacon carbanara.

 

This was a Saturday night at the end of October. The pub was busy. The music volume was just starting to crank up.  Service was still efficient however.  We did not have to wait more than 2 or 3 minutes at the bar.  When the food was brought to the table staff put the food down, told us our starters were there and asked if we wanted anything.

 

When it is busy I often find that wetherspoons have delays, staff seem rushed and a bit rude sometimes and the quality of the food can suffer.  I am sure this is prepacked food that is just fried, grilled or microwaved where appropriate but it was all served to an acceptable standard.

 

Knives, forks, salt  and pepper   and napkins were all in a box on the table which was convenient.

 

I did think the chips tasted as though they had been left around for a while.  They had been cooked well and they could have been hotter but these were not the worst chips I have had and it is these that drag my mark down a bit along with the limited ale selection.

 

However I still give this place 7 out of 10 and with better chips 8.5 would have been more like it.  I believe the spoons can learn something from this chain of pubs.

 

R Bar, 237 Mile End Road, Stepney Green, London E1 4AA Revisited

 

This pub used to be Loasis which was a gastro pub and I wrote a less than complimentary  review about it back in March when it opened as the R Bar.

 

Well since then it has changed a bit as there is a new manager and some attempts are finally being made to make the place a bit more interesting.  I visited this pub last Thursday after being told the menu had changed.  The steak sandwiches, chicken sandwiches (both with or without chese) Lamb shank and pasta have been swept away.  This was ok but 5 average dishes was never going to be a sustainable menu.  Now we have Mediterranean  tapas with a Turkish or greek feel including coftas of chicken or lamb, Pickled Octopus salad, filau pastry filled with cheese or lamb, calamari and mixed olives to name a few dishes.  Also they have taken my and a few other local suggestion to heart and started doing bottled real ales, currently including the range available from the wichwood brewery such as Hobgoblin and Scarecrow.  The place is a little busier now and staff are a bit more friendly.  You are for example far more likely to be asked if your food is OK.  Prices of dishes vary but expect to pay around £2.50 per dish.  3 of these dishes with pitta bread should fill most people as portions are quite generous and some dishes come with rice or mixed vegetables on the side.

 

I had Lambs liver fried and served on a sizzling  hot plate with onions and peppers, Calamari with mayo and lemon, pastry stuffed with chese and mixed olives and toasted pitta.  I was bursting after that lot and with 2 pint sized bottles of scarecrow the total came to just over £15.

 

I’d like the option of a full meal or tapas some tapas dishes consisting of rice, vegetables or fried potatoes or similar to give dishes a bit more bulk.  Now some dishes come with rice and others with mixed veg and others nothing at all.  There are too many chill out sofas and not enough eating space perhaps but over all new management arrived at the R Bar not a bit too soon.

 

I give it 7 out of ten and look forward to seeing how things develop.

 

Denleys, 61-64 High Street, Topsham, Exeter, Devon, EX3 0DY

 

Denleys is a curry house that is also a wine bar so it sells a decent range of drinks as well as excellent food.

 

I visited Denleys last week with 3 friends.  The curry is not like the cook at home kind of curry you will find in the best restaurants in Leeds, Bradford and parts of Birmingham.  In stead I would describe it as banquet style with lots of rich thick sauces but all fresh spices.  For starters I had a dish called Roshini Mushroom  which was mushrooms with loads of garlic in a fairly mild thick sauce.  I also tried a starter that one of my friends had which was Haryali Piazee Mussels which was mussels in a rich curry sauce.  The other 2 people had Chicken Chat and Mulligatawny soup and both said the starters were good.

 

For main I had a dish called Tava which was described as being made with whole kashmiri spices.  It was about madras strength and again it was a thick rich sauce with a bit of cream in it I think.  The lamb was gorgeous.  2 often in curries the lamb is chewy or rubbery.  It is often old and very poor quality. This stuff was as good as the best Sunday roast lamb!  It was tender and really tasty.  I had mushroom rice with this which   had plenty of mushrooms and chunks of onion in it. Lovely!  I also tried my friend’s duck balti which was of a similar strength but the source was slightly less thick.

 

My only real criticism of this restaurant is that in a couple of instances they got the food descriptions wrong.  One of my friends asked for a chicken  Passanda which was described as being cooked in a cream and wine sauce.  In fact it had loads of coconut in it which was a surprise as coconut was not mentioned on the menu when describing this dish.

 

I rounded things off with a chilli nan which was fresh and there were plenty of chillies in it.  2 of us also had liqueur coffees to finish with and these were well prepared.  2 of us had pints of Otter bitter, one had a pint of cider and the other had a large glass of white wine.  The total came to about £102 which is not mega cheap but the quality of food was excellent and the staff were friendly. 

 

For menus visit

http://www.denleysessenceofindia.co.uk

 

I give this restaurant 8 out of 10.  Ingredients were top quality. The staff were helpful and the website is informative and up to date.  My only criticism as pointed out here is that a couple of dishes are not described properly and on the main menu dishes appear in an odd order with desserts being listed before the traditional curries.

 

everest karahi 31 longbridge road, Barking IG11 8TN

I visited this curry house with 2 friends at about 9 o'clock on Friday
evening. It claims to be Nepalese.

This is a relatively new curry house and I was told it was good when it
first opened. Indeed, staff were friendly and reasonably helpful though for
much of the time we were the only customers there.

I had a dish rather similar to Chicken Chat for starter and something called
Lamb Sherpa for main. These were average curries with a fairly thick sauce
which I personally think probably came from a packet. There were some fresh
spices but really I can't say the food was anything special and it was a bit
on the greasy side. 2 of us had 2 large pint sized bottles of ale each and
the other of us had one glass of wine. We all had 2 courses each and the
price came to about £63

There are better curry places to be found. In general the meat was of low
quality with chicken being watery and stringy and the lamb being tough and
chewy. My understanding is that quality has gone down and on the evidence
of my visit I would say this curry house is nothing to write home about. At
the time of writing a tandori chef is being sought and I understand why.

The website is badly constructed and some of the pages don't work but for
more info visit

www.everest-karahi.co.uk

I can only give this restaurant 5 out of 10. It is expensive and while not
absolutely horrible it is not worth travelling any distance for either. .