The Pryordurkins

Posts Tagged ‘french’

After a late start and watching some beefcake on Sky Action movies it was time to leave the hotel room to meet up with Helen and Mark near Covent Garden.  The taxi driver dropped us off on Bedford Street immediately outside the Paul French Bakery and Patisserie.  Spotting the cakes we wandered inside only to feel very hungry.  The counters full of freshly baked bread and cakes looked wonderful.  We ordered up (after they recommended it) two cups of hot chocolate and along with a couple of pastries left with our lot.  The hot chocolate was the best we had tasted in a long time.  Not since our visit to Paris had we tasted thick hot sweet liquid chocolate.   Along with the fresh pastries we were very happy indeed, especially as all that sugar kicked in!.  We think they should open up in York and give Betty’s a run for their money.

Pryordurkin rating 4 stars.

Not wanting to travel to far last night given we were both tired, we booked ourselves into Bistro 51 at the Crowne Plaza on Buckingham Gate, London.  The place was quiet as we arrived around 7.30pm.  The maitre’d showed us to our table with a walk I hadn’t seen for some time! Browsing the menus, I noticed there seemed to be more staff than customers, but it was early so I wasn’t too worried.  I went for the Spinach and Potato Soup while Paul went for Chicken Satay starter.  For mains, I opted for a salad (I haven’t eaten very healthily this week) with a Rib Eye Steak, while Paul went for Carbonara.  We chose a French Red to accompany our meal.  My soup was very nice and very green, which meant is must have been good for me.  It could have done with been a little hotter, but with the basket of fresh bread went down a treat.  Paul’s being a Thai connoisseur, was not impressed with the chicken satay.  The chicken hadn’t been satay’d and the peanut sauce reminded him of Sun Pat Smooth.

At this point I should say the service was excellent.  The staff being attentive and very friendly.  When I needed to visit the loo, the maitre’d took me there!

Back to the meal, my rib eye steak was a bit of a disappointment.  Little by way of taste and nothing like the steak we get back in Yorkshire.  The peppercorn sauce was a cold, lifeless tasteless affair which I reckon was made up of brown gravy granules and bit of pepper.  Paul’s carbonara was nothing special either, but overall we were content because we hadn’t walked too far.  Deserts were a bit of a disappointment to Paul as well.  (He is used to being disappointed).  The creme brulee had split!  My Apple Pie and Custard though was very good.

The bill came to a little over £115 which for the ingredients used was expensive, but the surroundings were very nice and as I said earlier, the staff gave excellent service!

Pryordurkin rating. 3 stars.

We’d had a long day touring Bath with Christine, Graham, Jessica and Marissa and were ready for a good evening meal that didn’t require too much walking back into town from the hotel we were staying at.  The Bombay Nights Nepalese and Indian Restaurant was on Lower Bristol Road, opposite our hotel, so seemed the perfect choice.  Our only slight concern was whether Jessica and Marissa who had never eaten this type of food before would be up for trying something new.

We arrived at around 8pm and were quickly seated by the smart and cheerful staff.  We went for a variety of traditional Indian dishes between us and for the kids, ordered up a mild korma which proved to be very popular indeed.  Without any problem, the kids wolfed it back with the plain boiled rice the accompanied it.  Drinks wise, Dusty , Graham and Christine went for Cobra, while I opted for a french house red, which was very drinkable indeed.  The only noticeable issue we had at the restaurant was the fire alarm kept going off at the start of the meal.  We were assured this was because of some over excited cooking that caused the smoke detectors to activate, but this was quickly resolved and never effected a very pleasant evening which was had by all.

The food was very well cooked with good attention to detail.  Good ingredients had clearly been used and the sauces were not too overpowering as to hide the meat or vegetable dishes served.  The window of this restaurant proudly displays a number of awards it has won and we agreed at the end of the night, that they were justified.

A great Indian restaurant with happy, friendly and professional staff.

Score: 3 Stars. Visited May 2008

In what is becoming a fairly unique affair, I managed to have lunch again on Thursday.  Again with some colleagues, I found myself at the Queen’s Head & Artichoke, 30-32 Albany Street, Regents Place, London.  In what appears to be a very fine gastro bar we were seated quickly in the 1st floor dining room.  With the waiter hovering (and speaking in a very broad french accent – I reckon he was from Hackney), we quickly placed our order.  He seemed a little put out that we all ordered soft drinks and when I asked for a coke, I for a brief moment, thought I would get a cork!.

Anyway I went for the Black bean soup, tomato, red onion, cucumber & lime salsa at £4.50 for my starter and this was very good indeed.  It didn’t need any seasoning at all which is always good to find.  For a main, I went for the Lasagne with organic beef at £10.50.   Served with rocket leaf salad, it was well cooked and flavoursome.  The portion was just a little on the large side for a lunchtime meal so I would perhaps not do it again, as the rest of the day proved a little troublesome carrying round my slightly expanded belly.

Score: 3 Stars. Visited May 2008
Tel 0871 3327235

After a long and at times tedious week, it was time to relax into the weekend activities and we decided to have an early dinner ahead of the Theatre show we had booked for later this evening. Arriving at around 5.30pm on Saturday 15th March, we were shown to our table on the first floor. Being seated in the corner did not get me off to a good start, but I warmed to the red brick wall I faced throughout the meal.

We both went for the Coq-Au-Vin from the specials board, which was priced at £10.80 and accompanied by two side vegetable dishes priced at around £3 each.  To drink we ordered a french Sauvignon Blanc house wine, which was very nice and reasonably priced at around £12.  The Bistro has quite a following according to Dusty who has been here a few times before and eventually I could see why.  The food was very good indeed.  Nicely cooked, well presented and flavoursome.  By the time we were finishing our deserts, a baked vanilla cheesecake for me and a Pannacotta and Poached Pear for Dusty, the place was filling up with groups of respectable people.

A nice place which we would recommend and visit again.

Score 3 Stars. Visited March 08.

Tel 01904 629222

It was not exactly a warm welcome as we entered the door to Alley Cats, just off Stonegate in York.  A paper sign read “No room for pushchairs” which we translated as meaning, “No children”.  We sat immediately to the right at the tall round table which was being cleaned from the last (very messy) customers.  The window sill was cluttered with used tea cups and bits of paper.

Five minutes in, we started to wonder whether we should leave because in all this time, the staff had not once acknowledged any of their customers, let alone the new arrivals and smiling was clearly regarded as too strenuous an activity for a Saturday lunchtime.  Anyway being committed to bringing you reviews of as many places as possible we persevered and were eventually asked for our order.

From the plastic menu!, we ordered, Vegetable Chili and a Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Baguette that was served with salad and home fries, both reasonably priced at around £7.00 each.  The place had a french – cum – cat loving spinster feel about it and while quite small was housed across three floors.  Like the rest of old York, it was completely inaccessible to disabled people.  The toilets, small but clean, being at the top of a very narrow three flight staircase.

Our drinks arrived and things looked up.  The glass served with Dusty’s beer, was ice chilled; always a nice touch we think and my cup of tea (no pot) was hot, fresh and welcome.  At the same time we were handed two folded brown paper bags and curiously looked inside to find our cutlery, a paper napkin (arghhhh), salt and pepper.

The main meals arrived and were well presented.  My baguette was OK in the end and Dusty said his vegetable chilli was fine. All in all, the food was reasonable value for the price paid but nowt special as they say in Yorkshire.

Score: 3 Stars. Visited January 2008

3 Coffee Yard, York
01904 643307