Croydon Park Hotel - The restaurant

Hotel's own photo

There is something silently reassuring to know that a town that you love so much has a hang out where you can go with friends and visitors from other towns to have a drink, or a meal.

The Croydon Park hotel has such facilities. I have visited the hotel many times before for conferences and meetings but had not had the time to seat and take in the décors and customers service. Having recently been there as a client of the restaurant, I would recommend it and would invite mostly people based North of the river to come check it out.

Usually, people who speak badly of an area have never visited the area. I love Croydon and have leaved there for the past 13 years… I am continuously discovering great things about my area and have many times found myself defending it in front of people who have never crossed the river southward.

Well to you misery guts, Let me tell you about the Croydon Park hotel where I had dinner few days ago. The hotel is literally situated 2 minutes from East Croydon and 5 minutes from the town centre where all the night clubs and restaurants are concentrated.

Upon entering the hotel, the visitor is bathed with an impression of gold lights and, a comfortable reception area with modern soft furnishings and abstract giant art deco objects. At the left, is a reception desk and to the right, is are the lifts and corridor leading to the Brasserie and the restaurant.


The buffet area and ceiling

On the evening of our visit, the restaurant was full and buzzing; as far as I could see, the guests were a mix of hotel guests but mainly locals making the most of this beautiful space. The menu this particular night was a 3-course buffet with drink at £22.95 per person.

The well displayed buffet has offers for all tastes from vegetarian to pescetarian and a very large choice for the carnivores as usual. No matter your palate preferences, you would find something to eat at this beautiful buffet displayed on a giant hexagonal hotplate which, seems to have been carved out of the Ceiling. The latter is covered with tiled mirrors and is reflecting the food on display just below.

The starters buffet was by far the side I had decided to settle in as it offered Salmon, artichokes mozzarella, melon, Parma ham, eggs, king prawns etc… I was spoilt for choice and having taken a quick tour of the mains and having seen the tired green vegetables, wrinkly roast potatoes & colourless broccoli. I was reassured that there was enough salad combos to make my outing worthwhile.

No thank you

For dessert I tried the Tarte aux Pommes which would have been overly sweet had I not chose to have it with double cream. All the other cakes were oversized and full of cream… not to forget the ugliest dessert in the world the crumble… I don’t think the latter has a place in a restaurant unless it is baked in individual ramekins…

If the food was to be marked on 10, I would mark it here at 4. But the atmosphere and service would be marked at 7/10.

In my opinion going out to eat is as much about the atmosphere as it is about the service and food… I loved the atmosphere at the Croydon Park Hotel and will go again. I may not have enjoyed the food here, but for my dinner companions, they seem to love it. Mind you Brits are not too fussed about what they eat and I flippin’ Frenchie seem to be the one to complain every time we go out.

Well dear friends, if I am paying, it gives me the right to express my likes and dislikes freely and I refuse to let go of that right.

See you soon!

Don’t forget to inbox me on twitter @BeenThereRevs

The Criterion - Piccadilly, London

We are in the last week of February and the memories of my sunny Barbados are long forgotten. We are back here in London where it is a celebration when the sun decides to grace us with its warmth and allows us to see where we place our feet as we walk to and from work. Winters in UK seem to be longer than anywhere else on the universe and to forget about the cold and gloom, some prefer to down alcoholic drinks while others like me attempt to dine in places that make us think that we are transported in some European mainland location.

One such place is the Criterion restaurant in Piccadilly, London. Up until now I had not realised that the Criterion was also a restaurant as all that can be seen is the adjacent theatre … the Criterion Theatre.

Up stepping into the small unassuming brown doors you are immediately taken aback by the luxurious décor of the room (click here to see the interior). The lights are very low in the entrance area where people can have drinks. As my friend and I left our coats and extra bags at the cloak room, one of the waiters was called to take us to our seats in an area that had a much better lighting. Looking closer, the decors, it did reflect by its opulence the period it was built in. With all its gold lines on emerald ceilings, the bronze statuettes, multiple cutleries and glasses for each settings…This is only the second time ever that I felt that I was not in my place.

The restaurant is on he left

Having never been in the Criterion, a quick check on the website made me conclude that it was a high end place and as a part time chav, I should make an effort to not appear lost it the beautiful décor and clientele. I was already using a special offer and not dressing appropriately could get us thrown out… just never know with places where the head chef is French.
The waiters were very courteous, that made us feel relaxed and welcomed. We were brought the menus and asked what we wanted to drink and that is when I had to make it clear that we are using a special offer from Topstable.com. For some reason the head waiter had some real difficulty understanding that we were using a special offer that it included a free cocktail. I had to repeat in 3 different occasions… well, they placed the offer there… Had it not been for the offer I would have known there was a restaurant there for one and I wouldn’t have thought I could afford to eat there…

For my starter I had the Blakeney Point mussels with cider very lightly seasoned… with nothing to write home about, but the nice touch was the bowl of water that was brought to rinse our finger as we ate the mussels. Loved that.

My main: Salmon, Samphire, beetroot

My main was a melt in the mouth pan fried salmon steak with a puree of beetroot & horseradish and steamed Samphire which I really enjoyed. I only discovered the Samphire, a stringy vegetable last year and had never tasted it before. It was a nice surprise to find it on my plate although I could have read the menus online beforehand. The portions served where just the right quantities to fill you up without weight you down. My friend had a just right and again beautiful steak that was cooked to perfection… she likes her meat “well dead”.

Our desserts arrived just 5-10 minutes after the plates for our main were cleared away. Mine was a Mini brioche calvados presented with blackberry sorbet which I thoroughly enjoyed and cleared my plate.

We ended up spending £68.00 instead of the £50.00 expected, but it was a well worth experience. One lesson I am learning again and again as I visit various restaurants is that, there is no place you cannot afford. Do not judge a restaurant by it outlook, use special offer, go in and make a note to visit it again if you can afford its full prices. I certainly enjoyed the Criterion and will go back.

If you do go, tweet me your thoughts @beenthererevs.

Thank you for reading J

Abeno Japanese Restaurant - London

Abeno. Museum street. London

 When I hear Japanese restaurant, I can see with my mind eyes a crazy chef cutting raw meats with his machete, rolling and slicing sushi in an open kitchen and me, staring from other side of the room and appreciating the display of skills.

So, I was really excited when I was invited to dinner at Abeno restaurant in Museum Street. I have never been to a Japanese, but I am a big fan of Itsu and Wasabi. My feet always drag me to the branch near house of Fraser in in Victoria Street.

Table setting with cooking plate

Now. I am someone who believes in authenticity. If I go to an Italian restaurant, I expect to be served by Italian, Spanish, French, I expect to be served by someone who understands what is written in the menu and hat puts me at ease. As I walked in Abeno, I was greeted by someone who was not Japanese and had already decided that I will not like it. Even though he was the only non-Asian amongst the staff.

The restaurant was dimly lit and were I was seating, the rooftop was all glass with a view of the flat above the restaurant… really comical as when I lifted my eyes, someone was on the phone on their balcony.

Sat and waiting for our waiter to appear, I started running my hand on the table and that is how I discovered that the silver looking thing on the table was in fact the cooking plate. Question: why is there not a message of caution on these tables? Don’t they know that I could sue them for that?

Abeno staff cooking

The waiter finally came with the menus. My party had vegetarians and meat eaters. Since all 4 of us sat at the same table it occurred to us that all our meals were going to be cooked in front of us on this hot plate. The vegetarian seating near me was submitted to full sight of raw meats and the fumes of same when it was being cooked. Then, it came to cooking his meal, the other side of the plate was used. I am sure that he had some additional flavouring in his meal from the previously cooked meat dish as there was not real separation on the cooking plate.

Having already been disappointed by the fact that there was no sushi theatre and resigned to the fact that I will be stinking of cooked food when I leave theses premises, I limited myself to a simple stir-fried vegetable with some lotus roots. They got my dessert order wrong and gave mine to someone else. Since they had taken so long to serve me. All I wanted to do is pay and leave.

My main meal at Abeno - Safe

The entire restaurant seem to seat north of 40 people and there is only one toilet per gender, which I refrained from using as I had become really suspicious and doubtful.

I ended up spending £24 at Abeno and did not enjoy the food nor the samurai cocktail which I was told was the best... twaddle.

Abeno in Museum Street is nothing less than another version of a Chinese takeaway with food being cooked before you while you are being perfumed with the fumes from the stove/table.

Don’t take my word for it, give it a try and from your own opinion. I didn’t like it, my co-dinners who can’t boil an egg were impressed. Well. Each to their own.

The Reviewer

Banana Leaf - South Croydon

Last week I was invited to a curry house or dinner with a bunch of friends... at The Banana Leaf curry house.

Photo from the restaurant's website

 I have never been to a curry house before and frankly I can’t really stand the smell of curry. Curry is a very British thing and it is funny the reaction you get when you tell people that you do not like it.

When you go in a curry house it seems, EVERY thing has THE CURRY spice in it by default and if you do not like it, you will be reduced to have the naan bread on its own…

View from my table

The Banana Leaf is located on Addiscombe Road in Croydon, Surrey. I was told that it was a shop with a green sign. It seems on that side of Croydon everything is GREEN! I walked up and down and struggled to find the restaurant… The entrance was un-impressive and I am told that the restaurant has won many restaurateurs prizes?! Isn’t that supposed to include the location and presentation of a restaurant… anyway... I digress. So I found the entrance, got in. It was really dark at the entrance and the only source of light seemed to be coming from a massive fish tank near the till.

The poori  with Mushrooms

 I was taken to the basement where some of my friends were already seating. After all that walk, I was blooming thirsty and just wanted a glass of tap water to cool me down. So I asked for it. The waiter didn’t bring me my glass of tap water before 15 people had placed their drink orders including me and after he had given everyone their drink. Only then, he brought me my tap water… now that put my nose out of joint for the evening!

We proceeded to order the food. It was quite tasty, but often mushy. They didn’t take too long to serve from oder to delivery. I ordered Poori and mushrooms or starters and an aubergine curry with a coconut naan… (I had never heard or tasted any of that before).  Have I told you they were both curries? Yes they were! I skipped dessert… it could have been another sort of curry.



Aubergine curry with naan bread

While we were waiting for our food, I sneaked into the ladies… I always find that if the toilets are clean somewhere it is the sign of how clean the place might be; Restaurant, hotel, a friend house etc…

In this place, the toilet wasn’t the most clean. The taps were surrounded with a accumulation of dirt and the ladies toilet seat was broken. Light in there was very dim too. As for the hand dryer… well I didn’t use it as I thought that if the dryer recycles the air in the room in which it operates, all the possible gremlins will wind up being spitted on the hands I have just washed… yes I am a bit deranged like that… I went back to join the group still wiping my wet hands on my derriere as I suspected my clothes must have been much cleaner than the air from the dryer.

Overall, I will give 2 out of five stars for the food at Banana Leaf.  The venue will have 1 out of five stars. I don’t think I will ever set foot there unless blackmailed.

Highly recommended for High Street fast-food consumers, not for those who want to enjoy the environment as well as the food.

That is what I think, but Don’t take my word for it. Try it and form your own opinion.

Ciao!

The Reviewer.

Ristorante Gustoso - London

The full name of the restaurant is Gustoso Ristorante & Enoteca - London

Inside of the restaurant - Restaurant's own photo

To welcome a new colleague this week, we decided to go check out a new restaurant that opened in Wilton Place between Pimlico and Vitoria.

I saw this place being renovated throughout last year and was really looking forward to eating there. Wilton place is full of offices and private residences; it is also a very quiet street not far from the Queen Victoria Sports centre. It is almost a surprise to stumble on a restaurant here. Only people who use this street as a short cut towards Victoria Street will know there is an Italian restaurant here.

Ladies that lunch

4 of us went to launch and I had booked the table prior to leaving the office. An Italian lady’s voice took my booking making me even more curious than I was already. When we got there, we were welcomed by the smell of a big and very beautiful bouquet of flowers placed in the anti-chambre of the restaurant. We were attended to fairly quickly by a very smiley Italian waitress.

Once seated, another waiter, equally agreeable and Italian too presented (not given, but presented) us with menu boards. I was impressed! The menu and drinks list was beautifully presented on a brown varnished wooden slate… (can you tell? I love artisty and beautiful things). I am easily excited about original things… While we considered what to order, he brought and served us water with ice…Nice touch.

Taking a look around us, the restaurant was beautifully laid, with red light shadings, beigy-brown wooden tables with very darker patterned lines running through, a little pot of flower on every table. The walls had these beautiful Italian drawings and caricatures. Another wall behind me had a big black board with the menu du jour handwritten with chalk. The clients during this lunchtime seem to all be professionals from the area... no lost fans of liquid lunches.

my food order order

Since it was my first time here, I wanted to taste a lot of small dishes so I can make my mind up. I ordered Bruchetta & wild boar pâté, green olives, prawns with Chilli mayonnaise dip .My colleagues tried the fried sardines, spinach, lasagne and other things. The food presentation was really good and would have all tasted really really good had it not been for the amount of salt in the food. WOW!

The most beautiful olives

My wild boar pâté was so salty that I had to scrape the pate and eat the bread on its own. Tut tut. I was really impressed with how it all looked though. Even the green olives really looked like straight-from-the-tree green and glistening with olive oil. We all made the effort to finish our food… It would have been a sin not to.

I hope the salt was just a blip and will return to the restaurant again. If the food is less salty then, I think we may have found a new lunch time hangout.

the rolled towers are in the middle

Two of us did check out the ladies and liked them too; clean, modern with some character given to it by the mirror on the wall. To dry hands there is a choice between a dryer and some actual small real (not paper) hand towel, which I suspect are steamed and cleaned daily…

On my way up from the ladies, I spotted a small private room in the basement… I think I may have my next birthday lunch there.

Over all, I will give the place 4 stars out of 5. They lose 2 points because of the salt, but gained one on the authenticity and the accent of the waiters. The food is very fordable and there is something to eat from £1.50 on the menu. Just pop n to feel the atmosphere.

See you there!

Gustoso Ristorante & Enoteca is situated 35, Wilton Place, London, SW1P 1JH

The Reviewer