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.