trunkguy's Qype profile

We found ourselves in Southwold one sunny Sunday and whilst we were enjoying our seaside stroll we decided a spot of lunch was in order.

There are many places to eat in Southwold But the Crown caught our eye.

We had the Sunday menu which was a set menu and set price. The interior of the Crown is definelty shabby chique although I am not sure this is was they are intending. To be blunt it’s a little grubby inside but it is an old building.

The food we ordered was tasty but my beef roast was a little too pink for me. There was not much meat though as I was given a single slice. The rest of the veg etc was cooked brilliantly and the Yorkshire pudding was tasty and crisp. I must admit that I wasn’t pleased that the “horseradish cream” wasn’t an option and was plonked on the top of my meal. Not being a fan of horseradish this didn’t please me as I couldn’t avoid it. I know I could have sent it back but I feel once a meal is delivered it’s too late.

The staff were fairly attentive and the ambience of the place was nice but I think it’s a little pricey for what it is and the meal could have been better given the price.

We visited about 3 weeks ago and I am afraid to say I only remember the main course which indicates the starter/sweet failed to leave an impression.

Not the best place to dine in Southwold but I guess not the worst either.

We visited Cambridge to do some shopping and decided a leisurely lunch was in order to start the day off.

We've walked down Kings Parade many times and I have never seen this place before. It caught our eye and we stepped in for a table.

Apart from the waiter who greeted us who seemed to want only those who had booked to enter, we were treated to good service. The Chop House was busy but not packed.

The menu is varied and obviously created for meat lovers with dishes such as chops (duh!), roast dinners and suet puddings.

We had three courses and everything we ate was lovely. I had Carrot and Coriander Soup followed by Half a Roast Chicken with traditional Roast (I couldn't eat any more). My other half had Ham Hock, Lamb Suet Pudding with Horseradish Mash and Sticky Toffee Pudding.

First off I have to say that the food is brilliant - it is so well cooked, wonderfully presented and you can tell only the best ingredients are used as every course is packed with flavour.

Secondly portions are rather large. Probably not a problem for the table of American Academics across from us but we struggled. The portions are generous but not grotesque.

Depending on where you sit you could be at ground level or in the basement in the old kitchens or the cellar. We were seated at the back in the old cellar and it was very cool and intimate - especially on such a particularly hot and busy day in Cambridge.

The service was excellent - nothing was too much trouble for our waitress. She was polite and very helpful throughout - something that earned her a good tip.

If you find yourself hungry in central Cambridge I can highly recommend the Cambridge Chop House... now we need to check out the other restaurants that are part of the "Cambridge Food Company".

We just moved to the area and whilst on a drive to Cambridge saw this place and thought we'd give it a go.

It has traditional opening hours and even though is part of a brewery chain, still feels locally run and independent.

The draw for us with the Sunday Carvery which didn't disappoint. We booked as we were not sure how busy they got and was glad we did. They weren't packed but were busy enough. I think larger groups should book in advance.

The standard menu has a good variety and those who ordered from it enjoyed what they had.

The roast was a selection of Beef or Turkey and both were cooked very well. There was the usual selection of vegetables on offer which meant you could fill your plate and fill up quite quickly!

We managed to wolf down our roast dinner very quickly and managed room for traditional desserts such as Lemon Meringue and Spotted Dick.

The service was very friendly and the cost was very good too for the standard of food available.

My only criticism is that the food was not pipping hot. I know that's difficult with carvery as everything sits around under heat lamps but maybe they could make the food just a shade hotter.

It's a minor criticism though as we had a lovely lunch.

A nice pub with a friendly atmosphere. Nice to visit if you're in the area.

I find it interesting that this places exists as an alternative to supermarkets and to stand up to local produce and business, especially when there is an independent butcher right across the road!

Its got a good selection of food, some of which you won't find anywhere else but it's very expensive.

I have to admit we did enjoy our homemade scones and eccles cakes but at £1.05 each they really are taking the Mick.

I guess it's one of those things where if people are daft enough to pay such prices they will continue to charge them.

I wouldn't do a weekly shop here but if I was after something different or special for a dinner party or a treat then I would go back.

It's the kind of place you take your parents to browse around when they visit!

Where do I start?

Well we booked on a half price deal so it seemed like we were in for a good deal and a good time.

The venue is decorated in a gaudy dark silver and black fashion - the kind of design you see in B&Q ad's and in show homes. It was a gloriously sunny day in London and yet there was no natural light allowed to penetrated the harsh decor.

The music was also VERY loud. And very dated. All the tracks played were from the 80's and a few early 90's.

I am not sure if this is the ideal place to eat and if you came to drink you'd run the risk of not being able to hear anyone - even the bar staff wore ear plugs.

Now I must say the male waiters were very easy on the eye and the women seemed leggy (if you like that kind of thing) - sadly though looks cannot compensate for the lack of intelligence. It took several attempts for the waitress to take our orders and she had to come back several times to check things even though she'd written them down.

The general standard of the food was nice but it's very expensive. Even paying half price it felt like we were being ripped off. We ordered a starter platter and I doubt it would have fed one let alone a small group - we finished it so quickly the waiter hadn't got back to the kitchen before the plate was clean.

Ordering drinks were a mission - the cocktails took ages for the bar staff to prepare (their cocktail menu isn't very big so you'd think the staff would know what they're doing) and when it came to wine we were flabbergasted! We tried to order three different bottles only to find out they didn't have any of them. We ended drinking a mediocre Sauvignon Blanc - purely because this was all they had!

The payment system was different (to be honest bloody annoying). Instead of paying a bill they insisted you paid money up front when reserving the table, paid a tab and continued as such. We put some money on the account when we booked but when we handed our card over to keep a tab we didn't realise the waitress automatically deducted £50 from our account - this she tried to continue through the evening whenever we went over our total balance! This was very odd and made the evening frustrating as someone had to constantly pay and we had to keep all our receipts so we could work out what the total amount was.

If you want a loud hip bar where you can be ignored by dim staff and be watched while you pee (yes the man in the bathroom handing our towels was so close you couldn't help but feel you were being watched whilst peeing), then this is the place for you.

If you want somewhere central in town where you can catch up with friends and enjoy a nice meal and a good bottle of wine - avoid avoid avoid!

After being very disappointed by an incorrect booking at another venue we headed into Buckingham where we happened across the wonderful Tudor edifice of Prezzo.

It was a lovely day and we were seated in the terrace garden without any quibble and with no delay.

The setting was perfect to catch up with our friends and even though we were served by two or three members of staff (one who insisted on memorising everything), we were served politely, promptly and without question.

The staff had a happy manner and were happy to play along with our conversation/jokes.

The food was very good and between we all managed to polish off the contents of our plates (three courses) with ease and gusto!

If you find yourself in Buckingham on a sunny Saturday and you want somewhere to eat I cannot recommend the Prezzo highly enough.

The staff were so inviting and the food was cooked/served exactly as ordered. A wonderful experience and a great way to spend a lazy late Saturday afternoon in the sun with friends.

When we booked at the Red Lion we were promised that they would serve us lunch at 3pm and confirmed our booking.

Upon arriving at this idyllic country pub at 14:56 we were informed our booking had been placed for the evening and the chef had gone home.

Even after we showed the email confirmation we had a couple of excuses as to why we couldn't be served and were sent on our way, disappointed and hungry.

If you go to the Red Lion make sure it's around mid day to guarantee the chef is actually there.

Very disappointed.

A group of us booked this place for my birthday as we wanted to try a new venue. I am not sure what we expected but what we were pleasantly surprised.

As there were six of us and we booked we were given a booth, for a Saturday evening it wasn't particularly busy but there seemed to be customers in and out all night.

Eagle sells itself as a Bar Diner but to be honest I am not sure I would go there just for a drink - although plenty of people were doing so.

The predominant food stuff is burgers but various meats and styles which separates the Eagle apart from the swarm of gourmet burger places currently flooding London.

We all had various burgers from traditional, Italian, Greek (Lamb) and Hog all of which were lovely. The meat is top quality and the food is cooked exactly as you request.

My friends had cheesy fries and they were not up to par as they were french fries and ultimately not very nice. I had the chunky chips with my main course and they were lovely.

All the courses, the starters (large sharing platters) and American style desserts were lovely and all cooked very well... We left the Eagle Diner very full but happy.

The cocktail menu is rather vast and we all thoroughly enjoyed the cocktails we had ordered including the current cocktail of the week. There is a small selection of wines but the wine and red we ordered was lovely.

I have to give a special mention to the staff who were friendly and very attentive. Poor Oscar (a young waiter who just moved to London from Uruguay/and Gran Canaria) didn't quite know what hit him when he had to deal with us - as you can see we asked him several personal questions! That said he took it all in his stride and for that he received a generous tip.

Lovely food, big venus, great cocktails and a central location - how can it fail?