Sunday, 12 April 2009

Bar Apogee

Bar Apogee
115 Park Road,
Crouch End
London,
N8 8JN



Waste of time. The place pretends too hard. The people inside try to hard. Decor wise; its a rather nice place but the vibe is all wrong. This place is only busy on Friday and Saturdays. I wont bother coming back here. The only advantage to this place is that its besides the cheapest Shell Petrol station I have seen in London.


Thursday, 9 April 2009

Biagi's

BIAGI'S
39 Upper Berkeley Street


Really big let down.






The service is pretty bad. The manager was a rather nice guy but the waiter was a bit of a buffoon. The service was slow. The food was average. Its over priced. Both my meal and aleks food was drenched in a terrible gravy. The decor hasnt been changed since 1960.
Altogether I recommend against going here.


Maroush Maroush

Maroush Maroush.
I am not sure why but it seems every other Lebanese restaurant is named Maroush. As we were walking down Edgware road we couldn't decide which restaurant to choose. We opted for Maroush Maroush, we thought perhaps the named it twice because it was twice as good as Maroush. We were so wrong. First they sat us down in a very rude manner, then they spent 10 minutes perving on Aleks. We asked three times for a menu and after 15minutes we decided to leave.

We did not get a menu even after asking three times and waiting 15 minutes.

AVOID MAROUSH MAROUSH AT ALL COSTS.



Tuesday, 7 April 2009

Indian Curry Club


The Indian Curry Club
127 Tottenham Lane
N8 9VJ


The Indian Curry Club. Amazing food at unbeatable prices. The cook the food right in front of you so you have nothing to be fearful of. Unless you go to the toilet. Strongly recommend you don't. Try the food its really rather great, also the head chef is a barell of laughs. Don't be fooled by the video.




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Saturday, 4 April 2009

ASK, Muswell Hill

ASK
Muswell Hill Broadway








I opted to send this email whilst I was sitting at the restaurant with a beautiful young lady. I never use my phone at the table as my mother taught me that this was rude. However this day at Ask, Muswell Hill had to be an exception;

My email to Ask's Customer service:

I have been waiting exactly 28 minutes for my drinks order at your restaurant on Muswell Hill!
Only as I got up to leave did the manager decide to chase me, and then he brought my order!
As I sit in this restaurant, I can tell you that you have 28 customers and only two tables have food! The customers next to us tell me that they have been waiting for 45 minutes for their food!
The waitress has informed me she is the only waitress this evening and to be in for a long wait as their is only one chef! [this is rather odd as its 8pm on a Thursday]
It has now been 45 minutes since I placed my initial order!
In 15 minutes I shall be leaving, obviously paying for food which I strongly believe will not arrive.
You are very lucky to be on a street whereby you have no competition!

You have lost my patronage and I have lucked out on this evenings date! For being so rude on my phone
Best regards,

Guess what reply I received almost a week later? Was it an apology? Nope not at all this is what I recieved;

Dear Mr [Gumjoy]
Thank you for your letter regarding your visit to one of our restaurants.
Please could you confirm which restaurant you visited so I can forward your letter to the appropriate Operations Manager for investigation.
Many Thanks

WHAT? Confirm which restaurant I visited? Hello??? Did you even read my email. I say in the first line "your restaurant on Muswell Hill". At this point it has been almost a week and i am not that bothered. I ate my meal and the date ended up being successful, so I simply replied;

As stated earlier; MUSWELL HILL. Thanks for reading my email.

Finally a week later I received an apology;

Thank you for your email dated [two weeks ago], which has been passed to me following your visit to our Muswell Hill restaurant.
I was disappointed to read of the poor service you received on your visit, specifically the lack of attentiveness shown by the team, and the long wait you endured without communication from the Manager on Duty which resulted in further delays to you receiving your order.
All feedback is taken seriously, and I have investigated your comments with General Manager. I can assure you that the service you received was not indicative of our normal service standards, and appropriate action is being taken with the team on duty.
In addition, I am personally reviewing the staffing structure and recruitment needs to ensure that we can achieve the service and food standards we pride ourselves on.
On this occasion we have let you down, and by way of recompense, I would like to invite you back to ASK in Muswell Hill for a complimentary meal for two, to restore your faith in our service. If you are happy to accept, then please contact me directly on 07789 653479 and I will be happy to make a booking for you at a time and date convenient.
Thank you again for taking the time to write to us, and in the mean time if there is anything I can do to help, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely

Can you guess who sent this email? A P.A. to someone called Spencer. I am sorry but if a personal assistant is looking into the "staffing structure and the recruitment needs" I really wont be returning even if my next meal is free. Further they want me to send them an email before hand!!! I am pretty damn sure if I did that then my next pizza will be having some extra ingredients.

Come on Ask. Send me a coupon I can use at the end of the meal. Despite all this your deserts are pretty damn good, despite the fact you charge 2/3 the price of a main course.


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Friday, 3 April 2009

Broadway Café & Sandwich Bar

Broadway Café & Sandwich Bar
My breakfast place of choice.

The food is rather good. The name Broadway Cafe and Sandwich Bar seems a little much, this place is simply a greasy spoon. To be fair the breakfast here is good and I strongly recommend you get the chips, beans, eggs and bacon.

The portions are small. The plates are tiny. They load up the plate so at first you are given the impression you have a lot of food but this is simply not the case. Next up is the grumpy old Italian who takes your order and your money. There is nothing special about this place. If you live within walking distance then give this place a try for breakfast.

  1. How was the food? 7/10
  2. How was the service? 6/10
  3. Speed of service? 8/10
  4. Restaurant atmosphere? 5/10
Total: 27/40


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Pizza Express, Muswell Hill

Pizza Express
Muswell Hill






Its 8pm on a Sunday. I am not too fused about where to go. I just need food in my belly quick (i get really moody if i dont eat) the girlfriend isnt too fused either, as long as she can down a bottle of red wine on the cheap she is happy.

So the perfect option. Pizza Express. As the name suggests its going to be express and express was exactly what we encountered.

The rather cute waitress plowed through the crowded restaurant, plonked us in a corner and before we had time to take our coats off let alone sit down she insisted we made our drinks order. No time to browse the wine menu i simply said; "cheapest bottle of red, thankkkk...." before i could say "thank you" she was gone. At first i thought this to be super rude, but then i realised this was great. I did not have to read a wine menu, pretend to know what i am reading and then pay X amount of pounds for something which tastes i am pretty much sure to be the same stuff as the cheapest thing on the menu, after all this, it is pizza EXPRESS.

BOOM. The bottle of red is on the table just as we take off our coats. BISH "are you ready for your order". "We need menus", "oh right". I could go on about how i was rushed.... but that gets boring fast.

What really annoyed me about Pizza Express is how i asked for a tea with lemon. The waitress rushes back to the table with my tea but with milk instead. She tells me that they have no lemons? "NO LEMONS? Are you serious", "yes we have no lemons, but you can have milk". "MILK? But i want lemons, I cant have dairy, im allergic", "well tough, you will just have to do without". WOW. Being rushed is one thing but being answered back is another.

So of course i demand see the manager. BUT he stank. You would think working in a restaurant as a manager would afford you a lifestyle where you can first shower, and on certain days use some deodorant.

All in all the meal was average at best. My dough balls came with a soup of butter instead of proper butter, despite all the running of the waitress the butter was completely melted.

But in conclusion i had a coupon which entitled me to ten pounds of if i spent 30. so the whole meal, bottle of wine, starter, two main courses and dessert was just 25pounds. AND for that i will return despite all the shoddyness i received but only if i have another coupon.

  1. How was the food? 6/10
  2. How was the service? 2/10
  3. Speed of service? 8/10
  4. Restaurant atmosphere? 4/10
Total: 20/40


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