Living Room was busy early doors, the barman was very good, allowing us to "pay drinks on" so we could pay by card (£10 min spend). 2 halves of Estrella later, we ordered some olives, but I think he had to go all the way to Greece to get them as they took forever to come...and a stingy portion when they did. The beer was good though. Then the piano player started........the usual MOR Sadele stuff, Jessie J, Amy Winehouse etc, all very tuneful, but far TOO LOUD! Completely drowned what had been great conversation up to that point.
So we moved on to The Town Hall Tavern, against my wishes I have to say, but hey, anything for the blog.
What a gem!!!! Fab interior, lots to look at, I'm still thinking about the fantastic cup and saucer / teapot lampshades today! We didn't eat, but the blackboards were sorely tempting- I'll be back for their brown bread ice cream thats for sure. And the toilets - well, amazing. Chintzy large scale patterned laminates, quirky wall art,and spotless from coving to skirting, VERY impressed. The bottle of Merlot we had was great too, and at a sensible pub price. Cashews in a bowl, perfect.
Popped into Browns, but full to capacity, and nothing available for an hour and a half, so we looked upward and spotted a new venue, Zizzis, up on the balcony of The Light......
It was busy, but we waited 5 mins and were seated by the manager. As you walk in theres a coffee table with a great set of weird but wonderful multi coloured stools, each covered in what I can only describe as knitted doughnuts - a real talking point and very striking. Unfortunately, thats where 'striking' ended. We were seated at a grey laminate table on grey painted wooden chairs, with glaring strip lighting reminiscent of my garage making the whole place feel like an airport hangar or office canteen. The open plan kitchen allowed you to watch the numerous chefs scuttling about behind a curtain of cured meats, and the pce was full so they were kept on their toes. Our waiter was good looking and very muscular, characteristics which were obviously at the forefront of his mind as he gazed off into the middle distance as we placed our order, we flet lucky he managed to connect pen to paper as he scanned the place for adoring attention and for far more interesting customers than us. Our Italian bread arrived, but with an empty bowl where we had expected the oil & balsamic to be....'Shouldn't this have something in it?' I asked our blank faced Adonis...he gestured with a well exercised finger to the bottles already on our table....'YOU put in what you want' he said, and stalked off, buttocks chafing as he attended a table less problematic than we were obviously being. The bread was was OK, crusts a bit fossilised, but the oil was good, and I poured it rather well, and mixed by balsamic proficiently..... The wine was OK too, a decent Merlot - no offer of a taste first, but thats not the end of the world. My 'Penne Alla Vodka' was delicious, but owed nothing to vodka and was an effective hiding place for the 3 prawns I eventually tracked down. The Rigatoni was tasty too apparently and the portions were decent. As we'd finished our wine, and my 'companion' didn't want another drink, I asked for a glass of house white and the bill, but only the bill was forthcoming, although the wine had been charged despite never appearing. This was rectified before we left. We paid £28 each but left no tip. With good service and a dimmer switch, Zizzis would have been worth another go, bet its better for lunch.
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