• Added: 17th of September 2007
• Area: Edinburgh
• Category: Cafes and Coffee Shops

Edinburgh EH1 1SG

lardaholics said
The Bard certainly would not come here
We had the misfortune to eat here a few weeks ago. Out on a Friday night, during the Festival, we were after a place that did not have a queue, require a booking and was not dependant on a deep-fat fryer. Surprisingly, The Rabbie Burns was open, serving and on the Royal Mile. It was almost empty too. That should have been a clue. We didn't pick up on it.

The place itself was quite pleasant, with plants, dark wood and alcohol bottles giving it a pub-cum-cafe ambiance. The service was fine, but sadly, that is about as positive as I can get. The fact that they only accepted cash was somewhat surprising in this day and age, but only mildly annoying as there was a bank 5-minutes away.

The food, was disgusting. I chose meatballs in spicy sauce. I make this sort of thing regularly, and have tried all sorts ranging from gourmet options, through Ikea Swedish right down to barely edible tinned meatballs, and for the person pretending to be a cook in the Rabbie Burns kitchen, opening up a tin of Campbells would have been a better option. The sauce was bland - neither seasoned, nor spicy. The spaghetti was overcooked. The parmesan was the dried variety, and stale to boot. Worst of all were the meatballs, that were hard - as if they had been badly microwaved, and certainly not freshly made. I would guess that they were the cheapest cash-and-carry variety available.

Maybe I hit a bad day, and all the other options were lovely, but I think life it too short, and frankly too valuable for a second chance. We recovered, and now this 'meal' is just a bad memory.

• Added: 8th of March 2007
• Area: Reading
• Category: Bars and Pubs

Reading RG6 7EN

lardaholics said
Pleasant pub-restaurant by the river and motorway
The George is part of the Chef and Brewer chain, and as with other pubs in this chain, they offer a similar selection food and drinks. That said, it is actually pretty reasonable. It is quite a large pub with a more "restauranty" area, and a "bar-ier" part. There is an enormous garden area, spilt into three parts - a patio area with half a dozen pub type benches and tables. There is a newer covered, gated area with large, round tables seating eight with giant canvas umbrellas and weedy electrical heaters giving it a marquee feel. Beyond the gate along the bank of the Loddon and shaded by large willow trees is the overflow seating with a further 20 or so benches.

The selection of beers is better than average. There are usually a couple of guest ales, and they server Hoegarden and Leffe on draught as well as the normal lagers. Because this is a pub restaurant, there are 20 or so wines to choose from, although the downside of this is that they charge 4.50 for a large glass. A while ago, they were promoting a selection of five malt whiskies.

The food is good, and freshly cooked, with a large specials board, and plenty of variety from sausage and mash to Thai curries. The portions are quite large and although it is not cheap, the food is good value.

Atmosphere-wise, it is the sort of place to go for a family meal, a quiet midweek drink, or a place to start off your Friday night out. It caters to a wide variety of people. It can get fairly busy on a Friday evening, but they usually have plenty of staff on.

There is a nice open fire in the restaurant area, they take plastic for orders including food and there is a hideously expensive cash-machine on site.

All in all, it is unpretentious with good food and is usually a pleasant place to spend an evening.

• Added: 8th of March 2007
• Area: Reading
• Category: Restaurants

Reading RG5 4EW

lardaholics said

Now known as Moonlight Tandoori, the owners have made the brave move of making it into a sit-down restaurant, as well as a take-away. The location, in a small parade of shops, is highly unlikely to gain any passing trade, so they will have to rely on advertising and marketing to gets bums on seats.

The place is attractively presented and cosy, with space for about a dozen tables for two. On a couple of occasions, I have passed by on a Friday, or Saturday, and the place has been depressingly empty, with maybe two or three tables occupied. Surprisingly though, I passed by last Tuesday and the place was virtually full - no doubt due to a good-value set meal for 14.95 advertised in the window.

I have not been there for a sit-down meal, so I can't comment on the service or music, however I can comment on the takeaway menu. The menu is attractively presenter, and fairly contemporary, with a good selection of speciality dishes, some of which I have not seen before at other restaurants. Particularly good was the [fill in later, once I have checked the menu]. They, make fairly liberal use of lemmongrass in the dishes I have tried, which although not unpleasant, is unexpected. I am not sure whether I prefer my "curry" this way yet, but It is certainly worth trying so that you can form your own opinion.

Overall, I think it is worth a try, and I will almost certainly go back, maybe to try a sit-down set-menu meal.