Banker Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 14 hours ago, Kopek said: Still on cafes and prices. Had lunch last week in a recently opened cafe/restaurant, edge of Town. Nice place, lovely staff, so so decor! Food wise, seemingly typical of current style and prices quoted on here. However..... Quiche and salad, £ 12, the quiche used a 10/12cm pastry case, nothing wrong with these, I've used them for functions but.... more of a tart than a quiche? Little if any egg, shallow and 'modern' in it's filling, probably Goats cheese and cherry Toms! For a quiche, I would expect a wedge from a 30cm flan dish, at least 25/30mm deep, lots of eggs and the required filling with melted cheese on the top !!! As for the 'salad', a cupfull of mixed leaves, too much Frissee, nothing else, not even a dressing!!! As a tart, it worked well but why not describe it as a 'Tart' ~? A starter? 12 quid? Hmmm! Another example, an out of Town cafe you could 'cycle' to..... Tomato and Basil soup £ 7 I think, pureed with cream, not any taste of Basil ? Not how I would make it but then it's not an exclusive recipe? Was it good, well no but it may suit their clientele, especially if they are only used to Heinz Tomato soup!!! Do the Chefs get any feedback on their efforts? Dot the serving staff pass on any comments to the kitchen? Probably not with Divas in the kitchen!!! With both of these examples, the food was very good for what it was, was it what was expected??? Was it value? I'm just having fun with the vagaries of food critisism but it shows how easy it is for both customers and kitchen to get it wrong? If it’s cycle 360 it is expensive but always busy especially at weekends so they’re obviously selling plenty of their products Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Mexico Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 (edited) 2 hours ago, jackwhite said: My points on all of this, maybe not ideally made, are: 1. I find it odd, and slightly disappointing, that a chef of apparent acclaim is happy to leave The Claremont only to go to work in an H&B establishment and, effectively, do the same food but better. 2. If that's the road they're going down, I'm surprised they are charging the same levels as the likes of Wine Down. If I'm paying those prices, then, personally, I'm going to pick Wine Down as opposed to a really well done fish and chips. I presume the deal is running things himself and benefiting from that. He's also got much reduced hours from most establishments, Saturday night to Tuesday inc free, though it gives room for expansion, and he'll presumably be cooking there full time, but no worry about having to rely on others when not present. I suspect he's going for the 'simple things done really well' angle. Prices are top of the range but not out of it and people will pay that for quality and as he's got a reputation he will probably attract customers for that. The hours are more aimed at the Athol Street crowd and should attract those not wanting to go for more formal business lunches. The main query I would have is that this may not be a big drinking market and so lower profit from that side of things. Edited January 12 by Roger Mexico Tweaking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopek Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 (edited) BTW. A quiche should be mostly egg, whereas a Tart doesn't have to have egg in it. Although Jack may fancy a snack while he's...............😄 Edited January 12 by Kopek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackwhite Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 57 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said: I presume the deal is running things himself and benefiting from that. He's also got much reduced hours from most establishments, Saturday night to Tuesday inc free, though it gives room for expansion, and he'll presumably be cooking there full time, but no worry about having to rely on others when not present. I suspect he's going for the 'simple things done really well' angle. Prices are top of the range but not out of it and people will pay that for quality and as he's got a reputation he will probably attract customers for that. The hours are more aimed at the Athol Street crowd and should attract those not wanting to go for more formal business lunches. The main query I would have is that this may not be a big drinking market and so lower profit from that side of things. Will still be increased footfall I guess is how they’ll look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc.fixit Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Reckon the new Ginger restaurant is good and reasonably priced! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred the shred Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 The standard of food in most restaurants and pubs is usually okay but not very exciting. I prefer to eat at home there again I enjoy cooking. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyDave Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 (edited) 5 hours ago, doc.fixit said: Reckon the new Ginger restaurant is good and reasonably priced! A perfect example of being reasonably priced, but poor value. I don’t expect to pay over £100 for four people with only one alcoholic drink and all still be hungry when you leave. The food is good, but I would rather pay a couple of quid more and have bigger portions. None of us are particularly big eaters and when we went every plate was completely cleared which would never happen at The Creg, Colby Glen etc. Edited January 12 by CrazyDave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkydevil Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 11 hours ago, jackwhite said: 1. I find it odd, and slightly disappointing, that a chef of apparent acclaim is happy to leave The Claremont only to go to work in an H&B establishment and, effectively, do the same food but better. Richard didn't 'leave The Claremont to work in The British', he's been running his own Chef consultancy and private hire business since 2022, part of that consultancy is taking on the British. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084787844362 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majkul Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 On 1/11/2024 at 4:34 PM, jackwhite said: What's your take on the menu from The British? Again, I'm slightly disappointed with it. It's pretty standard pub fare, and maybe he's been restricted to that, I just thought they'd go a bit wider. I do think £17 and £16 for fish & chips and fish cakes respectively is at the higher end of things. Kind of prices I'd expect to see in Wine Down. "Bread And Dips" seems a bit steep at £6, depending how much they give you, of course, and what dips come with it, I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happier diner Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 11 hours ago, slinkydevil said: Richard didn't 'leave The Claremont to work in The British', he's been running his own Chef consultancy and private hire business since 2022, part of that consultancy is taking on the British. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084787844362 Didn't he go to matchums from the coast? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc.fixit Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 18 hours ago, CrazyDave said: A perfect example of being reasonably priced, but poor value. I don’t expect to pay over £100 for four people with only one alcoholic drink and all still be hungry when you leave. The food is good, but I would rather pay a couple of quid more and have bigger portions. None of us are particularly big eaters and when we went every plate was completely cleared which would never happen at The Creg, Colby Glen etc. I've not found that to be the case. A group of us go in every Friday and are very satisfied with the amount both monetary and quantity. We are all farmers or farm associated and like our food. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omobono Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 On 1/12/2024 at 11:35 AM, Banker said: If it’s cycle 360 it is expensive but always busy especially at weekends so they’re obviously selling plenty of their products but its excellent value for money ,quality food and decent portions , whet more do you want , and you can generally park right outside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyDave Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 4 hours ago, doc.fixit said: I've not found that to be the case. A group of us go in every Friday and are very satisfied with the amount both monetary and quantity. We are all farmers or farm associated and like our food. I can only comment on what we found. The food was good, the service was superb from the blonde Scottish lady. It looked decent value from the menu and the prices but there wasn’t enough of it, and we all agreed we have rather paid a bit more for more food. My wife is very smalL and very rarely eats a whole plate of food if out and about. She polished off £14 worth of gammon and chips with no issue. The peas to chips ratio was way off. Will try again, maybe it was a bad day but I don’t normally expect to finish a mixed grill after a starter and still want desert. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banker Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 1 minute ago, Tangental99 said: So your imaginary wife. Is she like a midget or Thumbelina or something? You back again Cueey , how many more times!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyDave Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 5 minutes ago, Tangental99 said: So your imaginary wife. Is she like a midget or Thumbelina or something? She isn’t imaginary, and she is quite fit actually. Lights up every room she walks into and I am regularly told I am punching. Life is good fella. I am a very lucky man 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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