Al Farid - Morrocan resto - Exeter

Our first taster selection

Exeter was by far the best outing I have had with my work. For now 4 years I have been organising small events for up to 150 people.

This means staying overnight in hotels, eating in restaurants and checking out a venue/ separated or part of the hotel we are staying in.

See previous post about the hotel we stayed in in Exeter… We had dinner at Al Farid a Moroccan restaurant tucked away behind a tree on Cathedral’s Yard in Exeter…

As mentioned on my previous post, it was too much of beautiful day not to explore Exeter while we were there. It seemed such a pity to stay in the hotel, have dinner and shuffle back to our individual room. As I arrived in Exeter few hours before the rest of the team, as usual I have a quick tour of the town we are visiting … mini tourism and spot restaurants or interesting things I might want to check out or photograph after my event.


Entrance of the restaurant

On this occasion I had spotted 3 restaurants side by side on the Cathedral’s Yard… including a pub, a tavern and a French style restaurant. I had not spotted the Moroccan tucked away. Besides, my dear colleagues have a very English palate and are hard to convince at times… as we were considering where to go for dine dine between my choices, one of us strayed and found the Moroccan restaurant. From the outside? Not very appealing.



the staircase

As we pushed the little flat like door to check the inside, we were still wondering if the place was a restaurant. The first thing we saw was a staircase going up. To the left there was a door which looked like it lead to a living room… weird. So, until we were welcomed by a very authentic looking waitress we were still wondering if it was a restaurant and if it was upstairs or to our left. The rooms and staircase were very dimly lit and it all look like what I would call mess on a normal day. But having dabbled with Persian tapestry and textiles in the past, I stared to recognise the handmade pieces. The floor seating, the hand crafted tiny tables, the embroidered pieces hanged on the walls, the authentic Moroccan jewelleries… once my eyes got accustomed to the decoration is all actually looked like a middle eastern gallery… Sort of.

Tea is serve - That is the table

As our derrieres finally got accustomed to the type of seating on offer, we started considering the menu… the names of the dishes were not familiar, but their descriptions seems to. But, we are questioning what the Moroccan twist was to them. The good thing was, all the dishes looked cheap enough to make allowances for mistakes… We went mad on the list and ended up ordering 3 rounds of food as dishes came in such tiny portions… All was very tasty… for a European palate, but something lacked… The Middle Eastern spices like cardamom, anise and others were lacking.

Being from and African background and having grown up in France where most cultures easily mix and everyone tastes what every on cooks, my only disappointment was in the spicing of the food. The decoration, ambience and the staff was authentic. It did feel as if we had stepped into Marrakesh for the duration of a dinner.

Taps in the ladies

I of course had to check out the ladies and the atmosphere there again was totally authentic… slightly dark, with a rough concrete painted walls… even the way that the tap came out of the wall reminded me of Africa… If I was to mark this place on authenticity and the deco, it will be faultless. Then again since the owners are Moroccans, they just decorated as they would do back home right?

As for the food, I suppose being based in Exeter, they had to compromise and go easy on the spices… we do not want those Western and Westernised migrants having a runny nose and eyes at every bite now do we?

I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who is looking to step in a little corner of Africa deco wise… If you are looking for your head blown away by the taste and spices, it might be a bit more challenging…

Do go check it out and make your own mind! Don’t forget to post a comment! More info on Al Farid here.

My phone was completely discharged on this occasion and I had to rely on my colleagues to take some good ones... well, they did their best. They were distracted by the food, which they really really enjoyed.

See you soon. The Reviewer


My coffee is served... and my dead phone, the best in the world

 

The Rougemont hotel - Exeter

“Hi! I am just calling to see if everything is alright in your room!” That was a call from the reception after I checked in the Rouge Mont Thistle hotel in Exeter last month…

Entrance display - 1

As I walked in the reception area, I was blown away by the decoration of the lobby of this hotel. As you walked into the hotel from the street, there is a short corridor which is about 2m long. within that 2m there are 2 gigantic ornamental flower pots on each side of the inside doors. There are also two big cast iron and beautiful finished sculptures on each side of the entrance, completed with oil paintings in gold looking frames. As this little corridor ends the visitor enters into this large and beautifully decorated reception area where all the soft furnishings call the visitors to just put their bags down and breathe all that luxury and relaxation.

Entrance display - 2

At the reception desk the staff is so relaxed and welcoming that I barely believe that I am still in the UK. The check-in is swift and you are waved to your room with a smile despite the busyness of this Friday afternoon at the reception desk.

This is all so different from my first experience in Exeter last year. I hated it completely and wasn’t looking forward to visiting. The hotel is literally opposite the Exeter Central BR station. As I went to my room, I was still expecting a draw back or a lower quality room. But it seems I had been upgrade to an executive room! I could not believe how big and beautiful my room was. My bed seemed to be able to sleep 3 grownups comfortably. There were some chocolate placed on the bed… which I endeavour to chomp on before my luggage touch the floor.

Landing & reception area

The secretary here looked like a CEO’s office I was starting to feel very small in this room and that’s when the call came; “Hi, I have just checked you in I just wanted to make sure that you are happy with your room’… I nearly replied “Hell yeah!” But I had to be like oh yes the room is fine that you… playing it cool. That has never happened before!
After my visit, I had a tour on the website and it appears that my room wasn’t even close to be the best… have look for you self on this link. Don't forget to take the 360 tour.

But this hotel? Frankly, I would recommend it to everyone who is visiting Exeter. One thing I am doubtful about is the restaurant. As I went to look around to see if the rest of my team and I could have dinner in the hotel, I found it very tucked away and not open to the street, which could have added a bit of life in this corner of the hotel. The restaurant was empty and dark. In this beautifully sunny evening, I didn’t fancy giving the restaurant a chance but,  instead ventured out where there were no end of choice in the city centre only two minutes away from the hotel. We were spoilt for choice and ended up in a Moroccan restaurant opposite the cathedral from which we did not want to depart (details in next post).

Didn't take a great pic of the room

As we came back my colleagues and I were discussing the beauty and the quality of the hotel. All three of us agreed that I was by far the best we had stayed in since we started touring last year. I of course boasted that my room topped all the others and of course my colleagues just had to have a tour… My bathroom was one of the biggest and best of all. It had enough white and bouncy towels for a family of 6. Even the toilet rolls were impressive; embossed, soft and folded in point…

The next morning the breakfast was being served from 7 am which meant that we would have the time to fully enjoy what was displayed… we copiously stuffed our faces before waddling out to our full day event… Needless to say lunch was completely unnecessary…

One thing I noted here is that all the staff at the hotel is all British, which is refreshing and makes a change. I wonder if this is due to the fact that Exeter is so far down from London.

Exterior of the hotel

This place gets a 4.5 stars from me!

See you soon!

The Reviewer

I've tried it: The SunCoast – Eastbourne

I've tried it: The SunCoast – Eastbourne: I was recently asked to organise a digital training event in Eastbourne I found this small venue away from the beach , but not too far fr...

COSMO restaurant. Eastbourne

During my resent visit in Eastbourne, I stumbled on this Pan-Asian buffet restaurant; COSMO.  Cosmo is a chain of restaurants and it is really popular amongst buffet crawlers. The chain boasts about having dishes from 10 Asian countries, a whopping 120 dishes on their menu every single day! (I doubt it). Their publicity says that more than 20000 customers visit Cosmo overall every week, I am not surprised… food is good there if Eastbourne buffet is anything to go by. See promo video from the restaurant chain below.

Apparently, in some branches they cook the meals in front of customers as they order their choices. That sounds great as this serves also as entertainment to the dinners.

I had heard about the live cooking but this in Eastbourne branch did not offer any… For the branch located in Croydon which offers live cooking, I am told that,  each group of customers can only stay and dine for 1 hour tops… because the branch has such a high turn over… I had never been interested in places like theses as, high turn around of customer’s means, careless cooking and possible indigestion for having eaten so quickly… it also means that you do not get enough time to taste their “120 dishes”.

Inside Eastboune COSMO

My teams table

On entering the restaurant, I was agreeably surprise to find that the branch in Eastbourne was much smaller and the atmosphere very mellow. Diners were quietly, milling around and making their choice on the dishes already on display on the buffet. There was no brouhaha from guests applauding the chefs at the “live cooking station”… There was no live cooking section. This branch in Eastbourne was so small there is no space to swing a cat. Having read the brochure I was excited to finally have the Cosmo’ experience just so I can be completely disappointed and very critical.

Despite not having a live cooking station, the buffet was quite good. I am not sure the food selection has 120 dishes from 10 countries… in fact I am sure there were not 50 dishes on display. I tasted most of the savoury dishes and particularly enjoyed the prawns and broccoli. The company was a great distraction from everything that was missing.

The deco was really quite modern compared to everything else in Eastbourne. The clientele, younger that expected and the staff at the restaurant were really pleasant.

My plate

Buffet area

We spent a total of 2 hours in the restaurant and all 5 of us had a great time with the boys trying to pack in as much as they could from the buffet.

At £12.99 per person this is really cheap for Eastbourne. I would have happily paid £16.99 as is the price in Croydon. I will definitely visit the restaurant again if I visit Eastbourne.

I will give 2 stars for this Branch of COSMO, just because I didn’t see the 120 dishes, the countries were not labelled on the dishes displayed and there was no live cooking station; 3 points on which the restaurant didn’t deliver in my opinion.

COSMO Eastbourne is situated 113-115 Seaside road, Eastbourne BN21 3PH. Don’t all go there at once alright?!

The Reviewer

 



I've tried it: COSMO restaurant. Eastbourne

I've tried it: COSMO restaurant. Eastbourne: During my resent visit in Eastbourne, I stumbled on this Pan-Asian buffet restaurant; COSMO.   Cosmo is a chain of restaurants and it is re...