Restaurant 2015

[The Maharajah of Sydney]

Maltby St + Druid St Food Markets ; http://www.maltby.st

Not a restaurant per se but 2 vibrant food markets plus 3 craft breweries & 2 gin palaces featuring a stunning array of tastes in close proximity to each other.
Spent over 3 hours grazing & drinking here yesterday. Highlights for me were the Sri Lankan prawn curry hoppers and the Oregon Pale Ales
Maltby St is open on weekends only and has been trading for 4 years whilst Druid St started up just 3 weeks ago and only runs on Saturdays - the 3 breweries are open Fri - Sun.
The 2 food markets run paralell to each other either side of the railway arches. They're a short 10 minute walk westwards from Bermondsey tube station.
Afterwards we took a 5 min stroll to Tower Bridge then walked along the Southbank and then across the Millennium Bridge to St Pauls. Top day out

 

[empire]

Going into brighton with a few lads that love burgers, been told the mashtun do a decent burger,any more around,i know of smokeys and have done the hobgoblin

 

[Westdene Seagull]

The other weekend went to Jamie's Italian, mainly because the kids love it. Decent enough food - not the best Italian but far from the worst. Only real disappointment were the crab risotto balls which were dry, unseasoned and cam will no sort of sauce. A worthwhile place for the kids though. 6.5/10.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Going into brighton with a few lads that love burgers, been told the mashtun do a decent burger,any more around,i know of smokeys and have done the hobgoblin

Burger Brothers are the best burger in town at the moment. However, limited seating and no alcohol so if you want somewhere with booze, go to Craft Beer and have one of the Forty Burgers that they sell in there. Not as good as Hobgoblin or BB but a decent effort.

 

[Napier's Knee]

Wanted some cheap eats while out with the family so tried the new pizza place in Worthing - Fiordilatte. It is a Sourdough Pizza and Gelato place which has only just opened and has a proper wood fired oven for cooking the pizza.

Very good large pizza, nice dough, good quality toppings and most pizzas between a fiver and £8. You get given a bottle of tap water on arrival which is nice and the beer is a bit different but nice. Service is attentive as you would expect from a new place and they are still getting up to speed so have no specials and also no card machine yet. Didn't have gelato as too full but the total bill for the four of us was less than £30.

Would definitely recommend this as the best pizza in Worthing - far better in quality and value than Pizza Express a couple of doors along.

Went this lunch time and completely agree. Excellent pizza - one of the very best I've had. High quality gelato too. Recommended

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Little Blue Smokehouse at Seven Stars Having given them a couple of weeks to settle in, it was time to visit Street Diner favourites Little Blue Smokehouse in their new home at the refurbished Seven Stars in Ship Street. As expected, good quality at reasonable prices. We had a mixture of the chopped brisket which was beautifully cooked and came in sourdough bread with pickles, slaw and hot sauce. Others had the Brisket Chilli which was very dark, spicy but not too hot and very tasty. Had fries with these and also the home made pork scratchings.

Loads of choice on the menu - the confit of smoked duck looks great and the pigs head fritter are also meant to be very good. The portions do not look large when bought out but are filling and they serve everything with their homemade sauces.

AquaDulce - a visit after work with colleagues. Not our first choice but many of the other restaurants were fully booked because of graduation dinners. Friendly staff and nice variety of tapas. Not the best tapas I have eaten but all were nicely cooked and had good flavour.

 

[ringmerseagulltoo]

For those of us who mourn the passing of Topolino Duo owned by the renowned Angelo, his sister Toni, who was a vital part of Topilino's, has opened her own new restaurant Topogigio. It is in Church Road almost opposite where Topolino Duo was.

Not a fair test, but we went there this afternoon when it was quiet, and had the full three course meal. Throughly enjoyable food, each course with small touches that raised the dish above the norm. The decor is not as you would expect an Italian, no red or green in sight.

It doesn't pretend to be cheap, but it is realistic value for what is on offer. Having said that, there was a £6.95 offer of main course pasta with a glass of wine.

If Toni isn't there, don't be put off, the manager is good company and knowledgeable about the food.

Give it a try.

 

[Springal]

Went to CrabShack in Worthing yesterday.

Very simple menu, about 6 choices and 3-4 specials. They've stopped the brunch menu due to small kitchen apparently.

Sat outsider quickly served drinks. Ordered food, wait 40mins, saw people either side of us get their food despite arriving well after us. Chased it up, turns out the woman who served us is the owner and 'forgot' to write down the order and give to the kitchen.

Offered free drinks but both of us were only only softies so no real constellation.

Food came out very quickly, missus she he crab sandwich. A lot of crab meat, well seasoned and filling with fries. I had the dressed crab and again tasted very fresh, and a lot of meat. Probably for £16.95 would like some more fries.

Given the service give it a 6/10. Could be a strong 7 if that improved.

 

[MARKO]

Went to Topo Gigio new Italian in Church Rd , Hove ...
No problem booking a table for Saturday night , place was half empty , old chap playing a guitar (which might explain it )
Starters were ok , although the garlic bread ordered as a side looked like it came out of a packet.
Out of four main meals only one was finished , very salty pizzas and an underwhelming Caesar Salad.
Starters are approx. £ 7.95
Pasta dishes are approx. £ 8.95
Steaks are approx. £ 16
Bottled beer at £ 3.50 and Pinot at a shade under £ 20.
Not overly impressed , service 7/10 food 5/10

 

[Guinness Boy]

Went to The Set last night. Really, really good IMHO.

It could have mired itself in Shoreditch hipster w**k but it manages to stay just the right side of cool (with one exception which I'll come back to). Young but knowledgeable and very friendly staff, stripped brickwork that actually looks good and music that is a touch loud but could have been put together by any of the gurus on the music threads.

Food on PLATES thank Christ. Very good, very tasty food that really works and seems designed to evoke food memories. The brisket with cucumber came in a mayonaissey sauce and was just salty enough to invoke my mum's tuna and cucumber salads that she somehow made taste bloody excellent on no money. The milk and cereal pudding reminded me of the times I was allowed to put my own sugar on the cornflakes and threw in a refreshing milk ice cream as a bonus (it was a sweet desert but I like sweet deserts). We had the matching wines. Mine went perfectly with all four courses. The wife liked three but said the duck with peaches could have used something sweeter like a Ripasso or even a port.

They also bring you little bonus courses. A curd made to taste like caesar salad and a deep fried ball of chicken with a lovely smoked ketchup. There was a tiny, frozen lime sorbet before pudding.

Some have questioned on here if the chefs have the palette and skill to pull this off. For me they do and they're only going to get better as they grow in to their dishes and venue.

Two teeny weeny complaints. There is a two hour limit due to the need to turn tables. Going forward this is going to mean you will probably have to book earlier or later than you would like. It also meant the first two courses came very quickly and then a much bigger gap to main and dessert. That was ok with me but the Mrs would have preferred a more even pace. Secondly the accompanying wine is called a "wine flight" which is definitely the wrong side of cool and sounds like it was dreamed up by a forty-something marketing manager from Slough.

It was - and this is the best thing - HALF the price we paid at the Salt Rooms for better food.

9/10 for me.

 

[Bozza]

Went to The Set last night. Really, really good IMHO.

Secondly the accompanying wine is called a "wine flight" which is definitely the wrong side of cool and sounds like it was dreamed up by a forty-something marketing manager from Slough.

9/10 for me.

Thanks for the comprehensive review. It sounds excellent and, despite being a veggie weirdo, it still looks well worth a try. I've added it to my list.

The "flight" term is a long-standing one. I've had flights of wine, beer and tequila to name but three. However, to my mind The Set seem to be using it in the wrong context. A flight should be a selection presented together to allow comparisons to be made. What they are providing is wine pairings.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Thanks for the comprehensive review. It sounds excellent and, despite being a veggie weirdo, it still looks well worth a try. I've added it to my list.

The "flight" term is a long-standing one. I've had flights of wine, beer and tequila to name but three. However, to my mind The Set seem to be using it in the wrong context. A flight should be a selection presented together to allow comparisons to be made. What they are providing is wine pairings.

I think it would be right up your street. Set 2 is completely vegetarian. My first course was from it, basically radishes and nectarines but actually so much more. Probably three of my five a day right there and something I could eat out that wasn't bad for my running. Next three courses are going to have to come off on Sunday morning mind!

 

[Machiavelli]

Went to The Set last night. Really, really good IMHO.

It could have mired itself in Shoreditch hipster w**k but it manages to stay just the right side of cool (with one exception which I'll come back to). Young but knowledgeable and very friendly staff, stripped brickwork that actually looks good and music that is a touch loud but could have been put together by any of the gurus on the music threads.

Food on PLATES thank Christ. Very good, very tasty food that really works and seems designed to evoke food memories. The brisket with cucumber came in a mayonaissey sauce and was just salty enough to invoke my mum's tuna and cucumber salads that she somehow made taste bloody excellent on no money. The milk and cereal pudding reminded me of the times I was allowed to put my own sugar on the cornflakes and threw in a refreshing milk ice cream as a bonus (it was a sweet desert but I like sweet deserts). We had the matching wines. Mine went perfectly with all four courses. The wife liked three but said the duck with peaches could have used something sweeter like a Ripasso or even a port.

They also bring you little bonus courses. A curd made to taste like caesar salad and a deep fried ball of chicken with a lovely smoked ketchup. There was a tiny, frozen lime sorbet before pudding.

Some have questioned on here if the chefs have the palette and skill to pull this off. For me they do and they're only going to get better as they grow in to their dishes and venue.

Two teeny weeny complaints. There is a two hour limit due to the need to turn tables. Going forward this is going to mean you will probably have to book earlier or later than you would like. It also meant the first two courses came very quickly and then a much bigger gap to main and dessert. That was ok with me but the Mrs would have preferred a more even pace. Secondly the accompanying wine is called a "wine flight" which is definitely the wrong side of cool and sounds like it was dreamed up by a forty-something marketing manager from Slough.

It was - and this is the best thing - HALF the price we paid at the Salt Rooms for better food.

9/10 for me.

Ta for this. Will give it a go (although I still need to try Isaacs). Two things:
-- think you mean recioto, not ripasso, the latter being dry
-- are you from Slough

 

[Guinness Boy]

Ta for this. Will give it a go (although I still need to try Isaacs). Two things:
-- think you mean recioto, not ripasso, the latter being dry
-- are you from Slough

1) Yes, sorry, too late to edit it now as well.
2) Definitely not, cheeky.

 

[Machiavelli]

1) Yes, sorry, too late to edit it now as well.
2) Definitely not, cheeky.

RE 2: I was thinking of your profession rather than provenance. But doing so cheekily. Apologies for both.

 

[Guinness Boy]

RE 2: I was thinking of your profession rather than provenance. But doing so cheekily. Apologies for both.

S'ok no worries. I'm in IT though, we're the ones that spend all day laughing at Marketing while trying to turn their airy fairy ideas in to logic

 

[Machiavelli]

S'ok no worries. I'm in IT though, we're the ones that spend all day laughing at Marketing while trying to turn their airy fairy ideas in to logic

That's your Hicks-ian streak coming through

 

[Since1982]

Popped into the Seven Stars in Ship Street today, where our club was first founded and now home of the Little Blue Smokehouse. We thought it was pretty good and excellent value. One pork belly sandwich and one brisket, both on sourdough. Good fries, tasty smoked meat, spicy hot sauce. Worth a visit.

 

[Spider]

Popped into the Seven Stars in Ship Street today, where our club was first founded and now home of the Little Blue Smokehouse. We thought it was pretty good and excellent value. One pork belly sandwich and one brisket, both on sourdough. Good fries, tasty smoked meat, spicy hot sauce. Worth a visit.

The Kimchee fries from there are amazing! There's some other really nice stuff, but we found the small plates to be a bit of a rip off. The deep fried pickles are a much smaller portion than we've had at Brighton Beer Dispensary and for a higher price, the squi rings were tiny and numbers about 3, for £5! There is some lovely stuff there too.

 

[Springal]

Finally made it to The Urchin this weekend. I love shellfish and craft beer so sounded like heaven.

Great sized place with huge selection of bottled craft beers, ales & stouts from across the globe.

Started with a Flying Dog APA and soft shell crab. I find its rare to get soft shell crab here of which I am a fan. Last time I did was at the Chinese Hutong in the Shard at about £20 a plate ! The batter/coating was very tasty, and good portion as a starter.

Up next was a Curios IPA from Kent, I've had this before at the Chilli pickle, so knew what to expect. Very sharp and slightly fizzy IPA. For main I had scallops, bacon & pea purée. Again very tasty, 6 Scollops perfectly cooked. Missus had Singapore prawns which had a lovely sauce. We shared some fries & a very nice tomato salad with the mains.

Did not have room for cheese board, but did have a very peculiar Neapolitan (yes that spelling) Stout from a brewery in the U.S. I forget. The waitress warned me it wouldn't taste like I expect, but I did in fact get all 3 flavours in the stout. Very nice it was too.

Very good, 8/10. Would recommend for a casual-smart ish lunch!