Strada, Princesshay – (3.5)

This is really the first proper restaurant that I have reviewed in Exeter that I have gone in with some really high expectations. However, as is normally the case, I was sorely disappointed.
I really wanted to write something good about Strada. I wanted to say how wonderful the service was, as it wasn’t bad really, and I wanted to say how nice the dining experience was, I wanted to say that the surroundings were nice, as they were, and that that the food was stunning.

So I am going to say half of those things, the service was good and the food was nice.

There I have said it.

The rest of it was, with foresight, to be expected from a chain restaurant that makes its money from cramming people in to small spaces.

I thought, as it was our anniversary it’d be nice to take myself and my wife to Strada in Exeter. I had heard good things about the food and good things about the service too, so my expectations were high. However, when we got there, we found that we were playing elbow fencing with two sets of couples having loud conversations about gastric bypasses and what her aunt said to the chef’s daughter, or something.
I couldn’t hear what my wife was saying as the din was horrific. Strada is a glass building with no soft carpet (that I could see, or at least not enough to absorb the din) so everything resonated and echoed terribly. The waitress who was kind and friendly, but seemed hurried, gave us a menu and we sat down. After attempting to talk to my beloved, we realised that we couldn’t actually hear each other, so I called the waitress and asked to be moved to another table. Off she toddled to the maitre’d who suggested we moved to another table on the same floor. I said, well this isn’t going to help, it’s just as noisey there as it is here…” So off she toddled again.

They offered to put us upstairs where it was quieter.  The reason why they hadn’t put us upstairs in the first place was that there was a party of loud women upstairs. So off we went upstairs, where indeed the loud women were in fact nothing compared to the horrific mind bending din downstairs. We mentioned it was our anniversary too and they gave us two glasses of expensive champagne on the house.

So we waited, and scoured through the menu, a lovely three page affair. Strada, in their drive for authenticity, had committed a cardinal sin in my books. When looking through there was NO V signs. Nothing denoting that there was any vegetarian dishes. So after 10 minutes we still had to analyse every dish description to make sure we were not ordering something meaty. After extensive analysis, the thing that amazed us was the total lack of vegetarian dishes, especially for an Italian restaurant, which normally has a decent amount by definition.

After a comparatively short wait, the food came and I asked the waitress if the parmesan was vegetarian. She said she didn’t know, so I declined, so generally it was pretty bland. I had a spring vegetable risotto which tasted nice, the risotto was well done and the vegetables were really tasty and fresh.

We didn’t bother with dessert and left feeling sorely let down by the experience. In conclusion, good food, really good service (the staff were friendly and I felt they’d bend over backwards to help), but crap building, soul destroying menu and for what you received, not good value.

Lets Do Cafe – Sidwell St. (4.0)

Lets Do hasn’t been open that long, but I have already made it a favourite spot for my amblings in to Fore Street when I visit Bookcycle.

Really, if you think about it, it’s nothing special but ,(like the nearby cafe that I can’t remember the name), they cater for us fry-up loving vegetarians with Quorn sausages as a nice alternative.

And along with an assortment of other things in the glass cabinet, they have a small but varied menu.  And they have Orange walls too with lots of artwork.  The only bad thing is that their extractor system wasn’t working very well when I went in there and came out smelling of grilled cheese.

Exeter Phoenix Bar (4)

They have a bar, they have seats, they have pictures and a nice place outside to smoke and throw things at passers by.
And, thankfully, they have a lovely menu with a nice range of vegetarian options.

For those not initiated to the ways of the Phoenix, it is the arts centre and focal point of everything cultured and alternative in Exeter. Sweeping generalisation I hear you cry? But I challange you to name me somewhere else in Exeter that has more going on. See, you can’t. OK, so the University and some other venues do have cultured goings on, but the Phoenix is by far the most proactive when it comes to events.

The bar is a large area with a great menu, reasonably priced with lots of seating and a vibrant exciting atmosphere.  But the floor is grotty, the ceiling is horrid and everything feels a bit sticky and well worn.  But then, I imagine most people go there for the great coffee and the warm atmosphere the friendly bar staff create.
The food is locally sourced and there is a strong emphasis on fairtrade products too. Value for money just a bit sticky.

Sidwell Fish & Chips – (Revisited 4.0)

I love revisiting previous reviews, it makes me feel happy that owners are either improving or new owners are coming in and revitalising businesses in neglect, very much like Sidwell Fish and Chips.

Thanks to sweetpea1602 and her comment on the last post about this as I was quite unaware that Sidwell Fish and Chips was under new ownership, so on this I decided to take the oppurtunity to experience what the fuss was all about.

Sweetpea is right, they are friendly and the chips are really nice.  They are not the nicest I have had but as chip shop chips go they are nearly as good if not better then Premier Fish and Chips in Budleigh, which I gave a massive ‘big up’ on this blog.  They are cooked in vegetable oil, and although the selection doesn’t seem to have changed since the last owner, there are changes afoot which I will update you on when I get back there and have more chips.

They have put in a new ceiling and a new extractor fan, which makes the whole shop more inviting.  The salad in my Veggie burger was fresh and it was hot and the chips had that satisfying crunch which makes you want to come back, which I shall be doing very soon!

Streets Cafe, Fore St. Arcade (4.0)

Fore Street or the ‘West Quarter’ as the council have tried to brand it, is immensely underated.  If you don’t know Exeter that well, then Fore St. is the part of Exeter where you find real shops, lots of independent ventures and cooky establishments full of intrigue and interest.  Foodeaze is down this end of town and so is Streets Cafe.

Set back from Fore St. deep within the Fore St. arcade, Streets occupies a dominant position with large windows and a stunning view of a car park.  The decor is a cross between eighties-Cafe-seen-on-The-Firm and the set of Grease, wood vaneer with bold blue.  But regardless, step in through those doors and you are greeted with a big smile and really friendly service.

The menu is not immensely diverse but there are quite a few options which take a few sides of A4 to convey, there is a vegetarian breakfast option and also various other veggie options too.  As it is a small establishment, there seems to be a degree of flexibility in what you can have.

I had the Veggie burger, averagely priced at £2.50.  Although it would be nice with some salad or garnishings apart from Ketchup or Branstons Relish, the bun was soft  and fresh and the burger was beyond my expectations.  Crispy yet moist inside, and it was hot too!

The only drawbacks as I could see was the sticky table that seemed covered in an ominous sticky substance which seemed to cement the mats to the table, the price was a bit much for something that didn’t have any garnishing or salad.  Although it was simple and delicious, the meal seemed to lack something…Chips? Salad?

Streets Cafe is something that needs supporting, in this age of Starbucks/Nero and over priced Panini factories, caf’s like this and Expresso (see previous reviews) in Queen St. seem to be a bit of a rarity.  For vegetarians, it might seem a bit irrelevant, but remember the little guy.

Starz, Lower North Street, Exeter (TBA)

Unusually I have decided to withdraw my review about Starz and their unveggie friendly menu on the basis that they have introduced a few new veggie options and although still limited, it is worth another visit.  Although the interior hasn’t changed, it’d be good to get some objective comments from people who have been there recently.

Chris

Puccino’s Oxford (2.0)

I am going to be relatively brief with this one, as I have repressed the memory enough so that I can walk past the cafe without collapsing from anger. I had to make sure that this was an isolated incident but alas it wasn’t, I found other instances where people had been blown away by the bad service, especially this one.
Walking in to Puccino’s is a little like walking in to a medical episode, something non terminal but still pretty horrific like diarrohea or projectile vomiting. The decor is minimal with slightly pointless writing one the wall makes you wonder what the real goal is, apart from confusing you totally. The floor and the tables is ‘old world’ fused with varnish over every thing including the service.

So after sliding in, you can’t really walk in because it’s too small, you get to a nice table by the window overlooking the cobbled courtyard. The menu’s are thrust at you, and looking through the slightly average amount of vegetarian options starts to make you wonder why people even bother. I looked through but noticed a lot more options that were vegetarian, but without V. When asked why the waitress looked baffled, not at why there were vegetarian options not marked, but because we had dared to ask.

First impressions slid downhill very quickly, and after changing my mind about eating we decided to have tea instead. You can’t go wrong with tea can you.

Well so I thought…

After the waitress who obviously did not speak any English whatsoever brought over the tea, we looked at the coffee mugs we had been given (huge basins, not nice little tea cups) and then realised that my friend Meg had been given Breakfast tea instead. Meg pointed this out to the waitress but was quickly rebuttled by an argument that it was ‘all the same’. Two different types of tea, two different prices, but one argument. It’s all the same.

Assam tea is grown in estates in India, Breakfast Tea is a blend of several different teas, simple difference.

I was amazed that the waitress was arguing with us, and not only that was I amazed too by the attitude of the waitress that bought it over “I was only trying to save you money, everyone who askes for Assam I give them Breakfast tea because it’s all the same”.

So the conclusion after that was that, if you go to Puccino’s you will not be given Assam but breakfast tea.

Places like this seem to thrive on reluctant tourists who are too scared to say anything about that horrific service. But I obviously know nothing because Assam and Breakfast Tea are the same, acccording to Puccino’s.

The veggie menu is average but you won’t get what you ordered because you will be wrong. All of you.

Spice Lounge, Banbury Road, Oxford (4.5)

Curry, what does that word conjure up?  Smell? Taste? Experiences related to Curry?  I always always think of a place when I think of the word Curry and normally it involves a rancid watery takeaway with overcooked vegetables and some aggressively spiced paste that looks like it has been regurgitated by a cat.

So as you can imagine, my thought of ‘going out for a curry’ was quiet dread and a small hint of fear as we walked in to one of the nicest restaurants I have ever had the pleasure of walking in to.  The first thing you notice about the decor is the warmth that it gives.  The hues and the tones make you feel vaguely romantic, even if you were coming in with a client or your boss, I could imagine pouring some wine and eyeing them seductively just thanks to the mood lighting.

Maybe not, but the first thing that they had nailed was the surroundings and the initial service, the first impressions had sold me already.  Second was the menu which is available from here which I hunted through to find a relatively generous vegetarian section lavished with a lot of other vegetarian dishes peppered through the menu, not just confined to the veggie section.  Thirdly was the free poppadoms with sections of dip as an appetiser, the taste really helped get your buds ready for the meal which ultimately helped everything go down well.

My Motta Paneer was amazing, and although the portion was a bit on the small side, I felt the taste made up for this.  I could have eaten more, much more but diets as they are we both sat there feeling suitably stuffed and as quickly as he appeared the waiter presented us with a nice little bill.

I would have slapped a nice 5 on the Spice Lounge but I did come away feeling that the portion was just a bit too stingly.  It didn’t make me question the thought about whether I could eat all of it, nor was I really bowled over by the food itself.  It was tasty and really well cooked but it didn’t stand out.

Joi Buffet, Percy St. London (Special Dispatch)

I have been recently adventuring around seeing friends and going to meetings, so I thought I would take time out to write a bit about the better places that I visited whilst I was for at least a few days being a jetsetting cosmopolitan.  OK, so no jets were involved and the most exotic I got was a toilet in Tottenham Court Road that smelled like Mango’s.  But I digress.

Joi Buffet is a really good concept, and as really good concepts go this little novelty has received mixed reviews.  It is first and foremost a chinese restaurant, but secondly it’s a veggie restaurant.

As you loiter at the door, you get beckoned in by two very friendly oriental ladies who find you a seat and then interrogate you for drinks.  The service is, like many chinese restaurants, pretty quick and very friendly.  After a slight bemusement at the array of different foods all laid out with fresh fruit and vegetables in a colourful gastronomic orgy, spilling over the sides with sauces and noodles of many different varieties, you do realise that much of the food is not as warm as it could be.

After piling your plate as high as it could possibly go, you waddle back to your seat feeling self concious that other diners might think you to be a glutton.  So as you sit down you say audibly “I can’t eat all of this! I am so greedy!”.

The cooked food isn’t excellent, but the variety of prepared fresh fruits and vegetables makes up for it.  The decor has a modern yet slightly neglected feel to it, it feels like it needs to be loved a bit more, possibly cleaned?  Just a thought.  The price is quite good too not going over £6.50 for a dinner service and just under that at £5 for a lunch service, really good prices for the location too.

Willow, Totnes. Best Vegetarian restaurant in the region…

Whilst browsing the Observer Food Monthly I was chuffed to bits to see that Willow in Totnes had got a mention as one of the best veggie restaurants in Britain!  It doesn’t have a website, and according to some of the reviews I’ve read it hasn’t got chip & pin facilities?  Not really sure about this so I am going to go and see what its like at the weekend, possibly before.

Although I am not going to review veggie restaurants in this blog it will be an interesting comparison to some places that I have eaten.