Gastronomia, Tonbridge Wells

 21/05/16

We discovered this place while exploring the market located in the Pantiles, which occur on the first and third weekend of each month. Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side, so we made a dash for this cute looking restaurant come café come ice cream parlour. We were greeted by an Italian gentleman who appeared to be the owner with his French bulldog and promptly seated us by the window. It had an intimate atmosphere which worked well, and a circular staircase to the apartment above was right behind us.

The menu had a great range of Italian dishes which didn’t include any pizzas, so we knew it was the real deal. I wanted to order the penne with wild boar, but unfortunately that wasn’t available so I went with the lasagne instead. It was probably the best lasagne I’ve ever had, the portion size was just right, it was cooked to perfection and the sauce was superb. I would strongly recommend this dish if you ever stop by, my girlfriend went for the spaghetti bolognese with plenty of parmesan to garnish it. She did let me try some and it too was delicious, however it is not my favourite pasta dish in the world, but that's just personal preference. 

The cosy restaurant is able to create a cute setting for couples, not helped by the waitress though. She carried out the basics of the job well enough, but came across cold and she could have made it a more enjoyable experience for us, and for anyone else in the future. Hopefully she’s not the only waitress they employ. Overall we had a great luncheon due to the setting and high quality food, but a better waitress would have definitely improved our visit.

7/10

Josh Cosgrove

Cactus Cafe, Loughborough

09/05/16

We turned up to the Mexican cantina with the doors thrown wide open due to the sunny weather. It wasn’t particularly busy due to it being a Monday night, but it still managed to have an atmosphere. The place certainly had a distinctive Mexican feel to it, but its hard for me to comment when I’ve never been to Mexico. It also included a hatch to see through to the chef in the modest kitchen.

The menu includes the standard variety of stereotypical Mexican dishes from burritos to grills, but we decided to eat off the two course set menu (only available Monday to Thursday). It gives you the choice of corn chips or Nachos (an extra £1 per person) and then burrito, enchilada or Texas chilli as a choice of main course.

We proceeded to share the nachos as a warm up, surprisingly they came stacked with jalapenos, salsa, guac and plenty of melted cheese, needless to say there was none leftover. For main course I went with the enchilada filled with Texas chilli accompanied with rice, the best way to describe it would be to call it a Mexican lasagne. A nice touch was the sprinkling of chopped parsley over the enchilada, but this didn’t completely save the overall presentation of the meal. It could have been improved further quite easily by putting the rice in a bowl rather than just slopping it on the plate. A bit more creativity and consideration would go a long way.  

It was an enjoyable night out and I strongly recommend it to anyone in the area who hasn’t already been, and we will definitely be returning. On a side note they have a jazz night every first Wednesday of the month.  

7/10

Josh Cosgrove

The Fully Loaded Nachos

The Texas Chilli Enchilada

Meet Burger, Loughborough

06/05/2016

As we entered we were greeted by funky décor including an original blockbuster sign and plenty of hanging lights to hit your head on. We sat on a rickety bench behind a German beer house table, with a mix of green chairs which looked like they were stolen from school, and gave the place a hipster vibe. The kitchen is cleverly situated in the middle of the room which serves as a main hub for the staff to work around, however this meant it got quite hot and widows had to remain open!

The focal point of the menu was obviously the ten gourmet burgers all aptly named from the Bollywood to Dutty Cheese, all were reasonably priced. After you have managed to select your burger then you have a vast selection of sides to contend with, from mac n cheese to loaded hash browns, along with a variety of different fries.

I decided to go with their own meet burger which is their signature burger, a 6oz patty with smoked bacon, melted brie and caramelised red onion which sounded like burger heaven. The flavours worked perfectly and the paddy was on point, considering the chef was on his own and had sixteen other burgers to cook for our group he did a top job. I kept it simple with their regular fries which were above average, but its difficult to make fries amazing without a topping. I also had a side of the BBQ wings which were deceptively filling, but the sauce made them so moreish. Even though they had a cultured selection of beers the waitress still gave me a blank look when I asked for a weissbier, making me look the fool.

Overall it had a steamy atmosphere, and the food was great quality considering it was just a burger joint in Loughborough. It’s definitely a hidden gem and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who loves burgers.

8/10

Josh Cosgrove

Meet is well hidden 

For further information please visit www.meetburger.co.uk