On a cold wet night in December it takes alot to tempt me 'outnabout', but this place gets me every time.
Underwhelming from the outside, hidden away down steep cellar steps, Grillade even smells French - they must import their cleaning products along with the wine and the President butter.
Pleasantly busy but not as frantic as the bar at Restaurant Bar & Grill had been half an hour earlier, we were greeted by a lovely French waitress, and seated quickly.
Our starters were lovely, my charcuterie platter was beautifully presented, with lots of crusty baguette on the side - ideal with the two rustic pates.
The wine was reasonably priced, from about £15 up, we went for a £20.50 red (forgive my not remembering the name...I had alot of it you see...), which went perfectly with my equally perfect entrecote - medium rare exactly as requested. The delicate frites and peerless house salad dressing completed the dish. Although I was genuinely full, I HAD to go for Grillades legendary cheese board - amazing.
You can probably sense that this is one of my favourite haunts, The French staff are so professional and welcoming, the food so simple but amazing, I just love it.
Long may it remain hard to find!
Wednesday 21 December 2011
Tuesday 13 December 2011
The Dyneley Arms, Pool Bank, Leeds
The last time we were here was about 2 years ago, and our experience was memorable for all the wrong reasons....CAN'T use a card, CAN'T sit there, CAN'T order that.....etc
But after 2 years we thought we'd give it a go for Sunday lunch. It was thankfully far more welcoming. The Landlord was holding court with the regulars, but managed to be quite friendly and attentive.
The decor is lovely, very smart, clean and cosy, complete with roaring log fire. Points for that.
The menu was huge with tons of choice, and extremely reasonable, mains for £5 and £6. We ordered the steak & kidney pie with veg, and it was with us in no time. The pie was piping hot, but the veg less so. It was perfectly acceptable fare, if a bit school dinnery, but the price reflected that. This meal wouldn't be a big 'treat meal' out, but would certainly do on the days you don't want to cook.
Being a Smiths pub, the beer brands were a little arcane, but the bitter was ok.....not many in for a Sunday lunchtime either, so a bit of atmosphere was lost. You could do alot worse than this, particularly if you're a family on a budget.
But after 2 years we thought we'd give it a go for Sunday lunch. It was thankfully far more welcoming. The Landlord was holding court with the regulars, but managed to be quite friendly and attentive.
The decor is lovely, very smart, clean and cosy, complete with roaring log fire. Points for that.
The menu was huge with tons of choice, and extremely reasonable, mains for £5 and £6. We ordered the steak & kidney pie with veg, and it was with us in no time. The pie was piping hot, but the veg less so. It was perfectly acceptable fare, if a bit school dinnery, but the price reflected that. This meal wouldn't be a big 'treat meal' out, but would certainly do on the days you don't want to cook.
Being a Smiths pub, the beer brands were a little arcane, but the bitter was ok.....not many in for a Sunday lunchtime either, so a bit of atmosphere was lost. You could do alot worse than this, particularly if you're a family on a budget.
Monday 5 December 2011
Home, Lincoln
We, along with 400 million (thats how it felt...) others, made the annual pilgrimage to Lincoln for the Christmas market on Saturday. They must have been planning it all year, so finely tuned was the level of organisation; pick up points, marshalls in fetching pink dayglo tabards, tannoys on every corners, metal fencing to corral you down the narrow lanes - a real feat. The crowds were VERY oppressive, and I'm sure on a few occasions I could have lifted my feet up off the ground and still have been carried along 100 yards! Imagine then what it was like trying to find somewhere for lunch! EVERYWHERE was full, queues out the door, standing room only in the pubs....put it this way, "Walkabout" and "Slug & Lettuce"were options at one point. Yes, we were that desperate, but even they were heaving.
So, when we glanced to our right up a narrow street off the main drag, and spotted a sign for "Home", it felt like fate had taken a grasp! The huge building hidden away had only been open since November, and billed itself outside as an 'entertainment venue', boasting several floors, bars and function rooms. We received a warm welcome at the door, and waited a few minutes whilst a table upstairs was cleared for us. I thought we might be stuck in some out of the way anteroom, but he area we were shown into was light, airy but cosy, with feature driftwood sculpture, a well stocked padded bar and the perfect level of music..... We were seated in a lovely suede booth, and were immediately attended to with speedily served chilled white wine. Always a good start. Our waiter was great, left us to chat awhile, no pressure to order, but kept his eye on us and spotted exactly when we paused for breath.
We shared a charcuterie platter with crusty bread and oil, served on a suitably gnarly wooden bread board, then I had the Smothered Chicken, and Compo had the Penne Pasta with Chorizo. The food was really good, and VERY reasonably priced. The service stood out a mile throughout, with a check back at just the right point - when we were also asked how we planned on paying! Odd, I thought, but it turned out the card machine system had crashed, and they were only able to take cash payments. With the nearest hole in the wall a 5 minute walk away AGAINST the throng, our waiter offered us a discount for the inconvenience.......25% inconvenience as it turned out.....very generous. So, for 5 glasses of wine, a shared starter and 2 mains, Compo paid £30. Impressed.
Discount aside, Home was a real oasis, a genteel, peacful,welcome sanctuary in the chaos, and well worth a revisit - any time other than December!!!!!
So, when we glanced to our right up a narrow street off the main drag, and spotted a sign for "Home", it felt like fate had taken a grasp! The huge building hidden away had only been open since November, and billed itself outside as an 'entertainment venue', boasting several floors, bars and function rooms. We received a warm welcome at the door, and waited a few minutes whilst a table upstairs was cleared for us. I thought we might be stuck in some out of the way anteroom, but he area we were shown into was light, airy but cosy, with feature driftwood sculpture, a well stocked padded bar and the perfect level of music..... We were seated in a lovely suede booth, and were immediately attended to with speedily served chilled white wine. Always a good start. Our waiter was great, left us to chat awhile, no pressure to order, but kept his eye on us and spotted exactly when we paused for breath.
We shared a charcuterie platter with crusty bread and oil, served on a suitably gnarly wooden bread board, then I had the Smothered Chicken, and Compo had the Penne Pasta with Chorizo. The food was really good, and VERY reasonably priced. The service stood out a mile throughout, with a check back at just the right point - when we were also asked how we planned on paying! Odd, I thought, but it turned out the card machine system had crashed, and they were only able to take cash payments. With the nearest hole in the wall a 5 minute walk away AGAINST the throng, our waiter offered us a discount for the inconvenience.......25% inconvenience as it turned out.....very generous. So, for 5 glasses of wine, a shared starter and 2 mains, Compo paid £30. Impressed.
Discount aside, Home was a real oasis, a genteel, peacful,welcome sanctuary in the chaos, and well worth a revisit - any time other than December!!!!!
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