Category: Out door seating

Rokka Ramsgate – a fish out of water!

While doing a spot of Whale watching recently (a 45 foot Sperm Whale was beached at Pegwell Bay close to Ramsgate) I had the chance to try out Rokka.  A restaurant bar situated on Ramsgates Victorian Harbour front. Its modern styling does clash somewhat with its surroundings and on first appearance seems to be all style over substance.  However on having lunch there I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by its friendly and welcoming staff and also the very tasty seafood pasta dish I had (No whales were harmed in the making of this dish). I also enjoyed a lovely dessert of Baklava with cream.

Rokka is out of place in Ramsgate Harbour, a bit of a fish out of water itself, but it is definately worth watching.

 

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The Old Brewery – Good enough for Johnny Depp!

As we walked through the grounds of the Old Royal Naval college in Greenwich we passed a sign from the Producers of Pirates of the Caribbean 4 apologising for the inconvenience caused by the filming, not sure you can be inconvenienced by Johnny Depp filming next door!

The Old Brewery certainly has the look of a venue that would suit an A list celebrity. It has justifiably won the Time Out 2010 Eating and Drinking Awards for Best New Design.

It is a lovely location, with great outdoor space, a stylish bar and a large restaurant that somehow manages to be cool and artistic as well as warm and inviting. This is acheived by using very effective lighting and a having  huge artwork made from beer bottles hanging from the ceiling (sounds naff but it works). Even stranger is that by day, the restaurant space acts as a cafe  for the Discover Greenwich tourist attraction.

The food is British and each course can be matched with a Beer. The Old Brewery is owned by Meantime Brewing Company.

I started with a bowl of Devilled Whitebait with caper mayonnaise. My companion had a beautifully presented pork dish (it looked rather like an ice cream wafer), and a steak cooked exactly to order. For my main course I had mutton served with new potatoes.

The service was a bit weak, we brought our drinks in from the bar and only ordered one other glass of wine with the meal, they missed several opportunities to sell more alcohol, but I am being picky here, as on the whole I really rated this place.

Also on the question of cost, the meal here was actually about the same price as Fish and Chips in the Mayflower.

Marks out of 10

Food 6.7

Service 5

Ambience 7

 

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The Mayflower Inn versus La Lanterna

So why a historic gastropub versus a traditional Italian Trattoria.  The reason is Open House London or Open City as it is now called, an event that allows for free access to some very interesting places. We had a tour of Sands Film Studios in Rotherhithe, an amazing place that among other things provided costumes for films ranging from Little Dorrit to Pride and Prejudice.  The studios are directly opposite The Mayflower Inn, so that popular scenic pub seemed an ideal location for dinner.

The Mayflower is a great pub with a floating deck area right on the river. Great for drinks that is, it used to do good food too – maybe it still does!  However when we saw the price on the chalk board for Fish and Chips, we just could not justify it – £21.00 (see picture). So we headed up river to Shad Thames, and went to La Lanterna, which is a “real” Italian Trattoria, with genuinely friendly and hospitable Italian staff. In style this place is almost the antithesis of the modern Italian restaurants typified by Zucca and the River Cafe.

We chose a bottle of my favorite Italian white wine (Gavi de Gavi), and I ordered Antipasto misto all’italiana (mixed appetisers) at £7.20 ( this dish was for one, but could have fed four). I followed this with fish from their specials board – Halibut with Scallops and Langoustine (not cheap at £21 either, but a lot more than just fish and chips).  This dish was nicely cooked and served with a tasty citrus sauce and a side order of vegetables, it  was also a huge portion.  Way too big for me, so  the waiter kindly offered to box the piece of halibut I left for take away.

There was absolutely no room for dessert so I just had coffee.  This was followed by a complementary liqueur (we were offered a choice of Amaretto, Sambuca, Baileys or Limoncello) –  a very nice way to end the evening.

La Lanterna also has an attractive inner courtyard for eating al fresco (in the summer).

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The Rocks – Omelette challenge

Having  just finished watching the Omelette challenge on Saturday Kitchen, my choice of breakfast in The Rocks Restaurant may have been subliminal.  When my ham and cheese omelette arrived in a matter of minutes from order to table, unlike those on Saturday Kitchen which take seconds and look on the whole inedible, this omelette was close to perfect.  Delicious with a really light and fluffy texture. Actually it was easily the best omelette I have had in a long time.

The Rocks on Vauxhall Bridge Road is fairly new, formally Cafe Rocks – a well respected sandwich bar,  it has expanded to double its orginal size and is now a full blown restaurant.  It is a good spot to stop on route to Tate Britain.  The monochrome decor –  black marble tiles, black tables and chairs, may not be to everyones taste, but I thought it was both effective and practical.  I definitely plan to return to try their all day breakfast. The rest of the menu looked interesting too,  it included several Turkish dishes.  I need to make a few more visits and try more of the menu, but based on the omelette (known to be one of the best ways to judge a chefs ability) I suspect The Rocks is something of a Gem! (Pun intended).

Marks out of 10

Food 5.2

Service 5.2

Ambience 6

UPDATE : January 2011 – Made a return visit.  One dish on the menu to avoid is maybe the Eggs Benedict, which is actually not Eggs Benedict.  It tasted ok,  but was missing key ingredients like muffins and ham.

UPDATE : January 2014 – Nice to see that The Rocks is still going strong. Everyone who came in got a warm welcome and the service was good. It had a nice turn over of customers on my visit, with people choosing to both to eat in and take away. I  would recommend the Börek as a main course, it was tasty and nicely presented, although there was too much salad for my taste. They also had a decent selection of cakes and pastries.

 

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Albannach – style on the square

The Albannach is pretty established now.  I went there a few times just after it opened, eating in the restaurant and in the bar. I was impressed by the quality and style of the place, especially when you consider its location in Trafalgar Square. So now several years later we decided to make a return visit.  The decor and layout had changed a bit, but the Alabannach still has its own distinctive style.  The interior design incorporates some stunning customized lighting, using a Stag and Antlers theme.

My reservation was based on ordering from the set menu (part of a deal I used to cash in on some of my toptable points). This turned out to be a bit of a false economy, as we found this menu to be a little too basic for our taste.  On past experience I think going a la carte might be a better option here.

The 3 fish terrine we had for starters was good, but the main courses were disappointing,  in that I had to order an extra dish to go with my sea bass and the alternative main course option of lamb stew would not have been out of place in a soup kitchen.  The watery stew was definitely not sophisticated enough for this type of venue.  Fortunately we ordered a very nice (if expensive) bottle of Gewürztraminer to drown the rather disappointing food.

UPDATE : CLOSED

 

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Manta & Blue @ Woolloomooloo!

A post from No Experts Australian Correspondent

I have been meaning to visit Woolloomooloo for quite some time, and finally got the opportunity when a friend invited me to a Bordeaux tasting at the amazingly chic  Blue Hotel. The name Woolloomooloo,  had always held out a fascination for me.  Needless to say 21st century Woolloomooloo bears no resemblance to the outpost I had imagined, instead, this former docklands area has now been re-developed, in a very sympathetic manner.

Manta is one of several top restaurants that line the length of Finger Wharf, housed in the former dockside warehouses, that typified this area. We decided to take advantage of their lunch offer of 2 courses and a glass of wine for $49. As the sun decided to honour us, despite being winter, we elected for an outside table, which offered water views as well as sunshine!

The food was very tasty, with 2 of our party going for the Goats cheese, chive and hazelnut stuffed cannelloni which was deep fried, and delicious. The alternate starter of Prawn cocktail, enlivened with an avocado dip, was superbly fresh! The Sirloin was beautifully done, rare, and accompanied by a divine side order of “Angle Fries” which were topped with shaved parmesan and truffle oil! At $15.50 this one of the most expensive bowls of fries I have ever had, however the amazing taste probably justified the cost. We polished the bowl off, quick smart!

Time did not allow for desert, and we regretfully headed off to an amazing Bordeaux tasting, where the highlight was a 1909 Domaine Sainte Croix Rivesaltes, a partially fortified wine from the South of France. We ended the day laughing, as the gentlemen drawing the prize, bowed to one of our party and offered her the opportunity to pull out a name from the box. She pulled out a name with a flourish,  only for her to draw out her husband’s name from the box! Brilliant! The prize a magnum of 2001 Domaine de Chevalier, Classed Growth Pessac Leognan, which was taken home to be laid down! Great day!

Marks out of 10

Food 6.5

Service 5.8

Ambience 6.9

 

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