Latest reviews by bryjk

Cattows Farm

bryjk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:35:56 +0000

Rating: 5.0

Location: Normanton Lane, Heather, LE67 2TD, Ibstock, United Kingdom

Tags: helpful staff

Top quality local produceA real jewel in the heart of Leicestershire. Cattows boasts a large, well stocked farm shop and a busy cafÃ©. Summer months bring â¬Üpick your ownâ¬" seasons for the usual fruits, and come autumn you are even welcomed to pick your own sweetcorn.

The farm shop has a varied stock, including home grown produce, their own rare-breed pork, home made fruit pies and local organic milk. Cattows also stocks other fruits such as bananas, so all of your weekly shopping needs can be met in one place. They sell local cheeses, and ice creams from the Gopsall Fresh and Needwood dairies.

The cafÃ© serves beautiful, fresh home made cakes, and warm snacks. Always busy, but worth trying the fayre.

Bowd Inn

bryjk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:28:45 +0000

Rating: 5.0

Location: , EX10 0ND, Sidmouth, United Kingdom

Tags: relaxed, excellent pub food, beer garden, independent pub, friendly

Fantastic foodA brilliant pub near the seaside town of Sidmouth, off a busy road, but the noise does not a\ffect the dining experience, even if you eat outside.

The Bowd Inn serves freshly cooked food, using local produce. The menu is varied, and portion sizes are reasonable, although their pasta dishes seem very small for the price! There is a good choice for vegetarian diners, as well as fish dishes using local catches.

There is a separate dining area for adults only, so children are welcomed without interrupting the meals of others. Highchairs are available. There is a spacious beer garden, and a childrenâ¬"s play area. The staff are friendly and always happy to help.

Higher Coombe Farm

bryjk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:19:52 +0000

Rating: 5.0

Location: Tipton St John, EX10 0AX, Sidmouth, United Kingdom

Tags: family, welcoming

Friendly, comfortable farmhouse B&BA wonderfully friendly B&B, nestled away in the village of Tipton St John, near the seaside town of Sidmouth. This B&B is off a windy, narrow road, assuring you of a peaceful stay (although some hairy moments if you meet other cars on the way). Host Kerstin gives guests a friendly welcome, and makes you feel instantly at home.

Our baby was welcomed, and able to crawl around the garden. Kerstin thoughtfully provided a fridge in the room for our collection of baby foods.

Breakfasts are served at times to suit guests, and are relaxed affairs. Food is freshly cooked and tasty.

Manor Farm B&B

bryjk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:11:13 +0000

Rating: 5.0

Location: Old Frome Road, BA5 3DP, Wells, United Kingdom

Website: http://www.somersetbed.co.uk/

Friendly and comfortableA wonderfully friendly B&B, nestled away in the village of East Horrington. Owner Fiona gives guests a friendly welcome, and makes you feel instantly at home.

We stayed in the South Room, overlooking the garden. The bed was comfortable, and the room had the added bonus of a mini-bar containing confectionary for road weary travelers. The added bonus is that this room is adjacent to the Games Room â¬ hours of fun for children and adults!

Breakfasts are brilliant, and served at times to serve guests. Toast is served with home made preserves, which taste wonderful. Fiona lets you take your time and truly relax.

David Watts Fine Wines

bryjk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:54:38 +0000

Rating: 5.0

Location: 1 Mill Lane Mews, LE65 1HP, Ashby De La Zouch, United Kingdom

Tags: delicatessen, helpful staff, rare finds

Quality deliA wonderful small deli, as you walk through the door you enter a cave of delights.

Davidâ¬"s stock fine wines, speciality liqueurs and local deli products including regional cheeses. They also have local â¬ÜGopsall Freshâ¬" ice cream, which is light yet creamy.

At lunchtimes, Davidâ¬"s will freshly prepare baguettes using their top quality produce. They also serve warm soup with crusty baguette, in different flavours every day. Their cake counter stocks a variety of cakes and pastries which are never stale.

As with most Ashby shops, the store is narrow so at busy times it can be a bit of a crush!

The Beeches

bryjk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:46:15 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 114 Burton Road, LE65 2LP, Ashby De La Zouch, United Kingdom

Tags: friendly, standard pub food, traditional pub

Nothing startling, but still goodThe Beeches has certainly benefited from the smoking ban! It has gone from a dingy pub where food smells of cigarettes to an airy family pub.

The menu is not overly imaginative, but prices are reasonable. Weekly carveries are popular, although â¬Ücurry nightâ¬" in this format does not appear to attract many customers! There is not much choice for vegetarians. Snacks are only served at lunch times, so there is nothing particularly light on the evening menu.

There is only one food ordering point at the bar, so at peak times the wait to order can be long. Sunday carveries need booking to guarantee a table, and often see long queues.

Prices are very reasonable, portions are large.

Cafe Aux Deux Femmes

bryjk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:02:20 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 4 Mill Lane Mews, LE65 1HP, Ashby De La Zouch, United Kingdom

Tags: cosy, proper food, quiet & relaxed, good brew

Friendly cafeSmall, friendly cafÃ©, serving food throughout the day. Very light and airy inside, not many tables, but this means that there is plenty of room.

Service is friendly, and there is a smile and warm welcome for everyone. The food is simple, yet prepared well. Baguettes are large and well filled. Cakes are home made, and made very well. They serve local ice cream throughout the summer months.

This cafÃ© can get very busy at lunchtimes, especially as they offer senior citizens specials.

The staff could not be more helpful (they have provided us with a phone book before!) and will try to cater to all requests.

Ferrers Arms

bryjk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:58:37 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: Nottingham Road, LE65 1SD, Ashby De La Zouch, United Kingdom

Tags: students, pub chain, cool & smart, young professionals, standard pub food, young and fun

ReasonableA typical chain pub, light and airy inside.

At lunchtimes, service is slow and the food is good. In the evenings, service is none existent, and the food is often poor.

Orders are strictly taken at the tables, which has led to hour long waits in the evening before, despite frequent reminders to the waiting staff. At lunchtimes, arrive early, and everything will run smoothly!

Sometimes you get tortilla chips prior to your meal, sometimes you donâ¬"t! Sometimes you get offered desserts, sometimes you have to beg for them. It can occasionally take a while to get anyone to print out the bill, and let you pay it!

The menu is fairly varied, and sandwiches are always popular. There can be very long waits for your food, so probably not the best lunchtime venue (unless you know your meal is the â¬Ümicrowavedâ¬" type!)

Wong Kwei

bryjk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:45:34 +0000

Rating: 5.0

Location: 9-11 Bath Street, LE65 2FH, Ashby De La Zouch, United Kingdom

First class!A real jewel! Wong Kwei serves brilliant food, quickly, and always with a smile.

Always book, as Wong Kwei can get very busy (especially weekend nights), but you are never rushed, and always have personal space. Large parties are catered to, and there is a spacious waiting area upstairs.

The food is very well priced for the quality, and the menu includes several sizzling platters. They do allow takeaways to be collected, although this is not advertised. Each course is freshly cooked, but never takes long to arrive, even on busy nights. The rice is superb, fluffy and not too stodgy.

There is an extensive wine list, and well stocked bar. Coffee / tea gets refilled, and jugs of tap water are provided are re-filled regularly without the staff trying to force expensive mineral water onto you.

Well behaved children are welcomed, and always get made a fuss of.

The Odd House

bryjk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:38:41 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: Bosworth Road, DE12 7DQ, Dagenham, United Kingdom

Tags: good value, family & home feel

Good food, cheerless staffA traditional country pub serving reasonably priced food. The Odd House has a good range of local brews on the pumps, and a well stocked bar.

Since changing hands in 2007, there has been a monstrous caravan site added to the car park, which detracts from the charm that this pub once had. The front of house staff are also less friendly than they were, and can occasionally demonstrate shocking incompetence such as serving food then needing reminding after several minutes to provide cutlery!

There are regular theme nights, such as Chinese / French / â¬ÜTowersâ¬" (the chefs do a selection of brilliant meals served in a tower format). Food is always fresh and cooked to perfection. The house sweet specialty appears to be cheesecakes â¬ moist, rich but not too sugary.

The Sunday carvery is well worth booking for, beautiful fluffy yorkshire puddings, fresh veg and good meat.

Highchairs are available, but in short supply.

The Masons Arms

bryjk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:28:24 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 1 Church Street, DE12 7PX, Swadlincote, United Kingdom

Tags: friendly, standard pub food

Good food at good pricesSet on a tricky cross-roads between Moira and Donisthorpe, the Masons Arms does not seem like a quality restaurant, but as soon as you are through the door your perception changes. There are two car parks, so donâ¬"t be put off if the small front car park is full.

An airy pub, serving good quality food â¬ two lunch time courses for Â£5, or from a menu of typical pub fayre. The two course menu seems to be soup followed by a roast / omelette, but the portion size is generous. There can be a delay between courses as waiting on staff are sometimes too busy to notice finished tables.

Highchairs are available, and always clean. Children are welcomed.

Pizza Hut

bryjk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:17:10 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: 6-7 Abbey Street, CV11 5BP, Nuneaton, United Kingdom

Reasonable priced, good foodI know, itâ¬"s a Pizza Hut, what can you really say?

Nuneaton Pizza Hut has recently been done up, making it a more roomy, more relaxed environment. Pushchairs/ wheelchairs can now be easily manoeuvred around the single level restaurant. Children are enthusiastically welcomed, highchairs bought over quickly and hats provided.

Pizzas are generously topped with cheese, and always arrive quickly. He salad section is always fresh and regularly renewed. The staff are usually very prompt at providing free refills, in fact so good at it that you may have to ask them to stop!

The only draw back is the toilets â¬ situated upstairs the ladies is generally in disrepair with seats hanging off.

Dog & Hedgehog Inn

bryjk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:09:48 +0000

Rating: 5.0

Location: 2 The Green, CV13 6JB, Nuneaton, United Kingdom

Tags: posh, excellent pub food, cool & smart, young professionals, beer garden, traditional pub, friendly, relaxed

Superb country pubA beautiful country pub, with stunning views over the surrounding countryside.

The menu is gastro-pub type fayre, all served in generous portions. Sunday roast is a real treat, although it is definitely worth booking a table. The smell of cooking is enough to get your mouth watering in the car park! The evening menu is fairly pricey, but lunchtime sandwiches are reasonably priced, especially considering the quality.

Service is quick and friendly, and you are never rushed, even when the pub is busy.

A bonus for local riders is a water trough and tying point for horses, so you can enjoy the scenery with your equine friend!

The Chesterfield Arms

bryjk — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:26:34 +0000

Rating: 2.7

Location: Ashby Road, DE15 0QA, Burton upon Trent, United Kingdom

Tags: standard pub food, pub chain

Cheap but rather cheerlessAs debt12 says- what you see is what you get. A very popular 2 for 1 pub, it is always best to book in advance, although this doesnâ¬"t seem to guarantee you an available table at that time, you will sometimes wait 30 minutes more to get seated. This is a typicla chain pub, so decor is pretty bland and there is no atmosphere to speak of.

Food is good value, reasonable portion sizes. There is a reasonable choice of meals, unless you are a vegetarian! There is nothing revolutionary on the menu, but at a 2 for 1 pub that is a given Service can be slow, mainly due to the volume of people there.

Drinks seem to always be served warm, so ask for ice. On Saturday nights the whole pub can seem unbearably hot, even in winter.