The Coach & Horses/Pub Food/Carlisle

The Coach and Horses pub at Kingstown have made the lounge part of their establishment into a restaurant named Hussars.

I went with my partner a couple of months ago, but forgot to take the camera, as I went back with a couple of friends for lunch last week I thought I would take the opportunity to grab some more photos.  Therefore this blog is about both visits.

Situated opposite the turning into Kingstown industrial estate, it is a beautiful stand-alone building with some nice features.  Out the front is some tables and chairs for a summertime drink - although certainly not good for Vegetarians due to the number of wagons that  pass full of animals heading for the abbatoir!

Good amount of car-parking around the back.

The first time I went I ordered Brie to start (no onions on the salad please)  The brie was beautiful and crisp, a good size,  but alas the salad came covered with onions so I had to leave that.  As the waitress came to collect the plates I asked her to double check the main course would not come with onions on the salad.

For a main I had Veggie Burger.  It was fine.  You can't really judge a place by a frozen veggie burger, but its a great addition to have on the menu - thumbs up for that!  And there was no onions on the salad this time  :)

The chips deserve a special mention though, they are gorgeous.  Unpeeled potatoes, obviously hand-made, and just delicious.

We were going to have a desert, but when the waitress picked up the plate she didn't ask us.  I suppose we should have gone to the bar and ordered one, but when you go to a 'restaurant' do you not expect to be served?  It's a little point I suppose, but makes all the difference.  They lost out on a good few quid as we were going to have a pud each and an extra drink.

This time we went I was planning to have the Mushroom Stroganoff, but alas it had lots of onions in, so went for the Veggie Burger again, asking for no onions on the salad.  Didn't get a salad this time at all, but plenty of chips.

One of my friends had a Burger with egg and cheese, he said it was really good.

My other friend had the sausage & onion baguette with chips  (she got a salad!)

Will definately be back, even if just for the chips!

Cannot find a website, but here is the address.

The Coach & Horses
234 Kingstown Rd,
Carlisle,
Cumbria
CA3 0DE
01228 525535

The Pheasant Inn/Pub Food/Cumwhitton

I was pointed in the direction of The Pheasant Inn by a follower on our Facebook page.

I had to Google it to find out where Cumwhitton is, it is a little village between Carlisle & Brampton, about 12 miles from Carlisle.

A lovely looking country pub, we went on a miserable rainy night, but on a warm summers evening it would be nice to have a drink in the garden.

Beautifully set out inside, with rustic old large tables, nicely set with placemats, cutlery and a decent wine list. 

We were shown to our table, given the menus and our drink order was taken.

There was one Veggie option on the main menu with a note saying "ask about our other Vegetarian options" as there was also a Veggie option on the specials menu I presumed that would be the other option, but how wrong I was !  When I enquired about the other options I was brought a whole new menu with a vast array of gorgeous offerings, with even a couple of Vegan options.  To say I was impressed was an understatement.

I opted to skip a starter, having seen they offered three different Creme Brulees. 

So going straight to main course I had Brie, Mushroom, Cranberry & Spinach Wellington. When the food is served the waiting staff put on white gloves to handle your plates.

It was delicious, served with the most gorgeous chunky fluffy chips and freshly cooked vegetables.

The portions of the chips and veg look a lot smaller than what you would perhaps get in other places, but to be perfectly honest it was refreshingly nice not to be faced with a massive amount of food.  The amount of chips was just perfect, and when we had started eating one of the staff came to the table to ask if we would like more veg or salad - a lovely touch, and so brilliant to offer more rather than just give then excess gets wasted.  Well done Pheasant.

Hubby had a homemade burger.  He said it was "very very nice, tasty, perfectly seasoned".

For dessert I went for the Ginger Creme Brulee served with a shortbread biscuit.

Absolutely gorgeous !!

Hubby had Sticky Toffee Pudding with ice-cream.

Again, he said it was divine, lots of gorgeous toffee sauce, and a quality ice-cream.

We will definately be back, quite regularly I would think. The staff couldn't do enough for you and the place was beautifully clean & tidy - even the toilets were spotless, nicely decorated and well maintained.

The bill came to £32 for two mains, two puds, one large wine and a large coke.

Here are the details for you.

The Pheasant Inn
Cumwhitton:
Brampton:
Cumbria:
CA8 9AX:
01228 560 102
 

http://pheasantinncumwhitton.co.uk/

Taybarns/Pub Food/Newcastle

Taybarns was recommended to me as it had "loads of Vegetarian options", so while in Newcastle we decided to track down the closest one which was in Swallwell, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. 

The website boasts an impressive list of different foods, Indian, Chinese, Chip Shop, Carvery along with Soups & Salads for a set price.  The set price changes according to which day and time you go, as we went on a Saturday evening we payed the highest price of around £8.25 each.  The sign outside had a huge white price of £6.20 with a tiny tiny black "from" above the pound sign which you could only make out if standing right beside the sign.

 I wonder why the price changes though as you seem to be offered the same food, there isn't anything extra offered for the extra money which I think is a bit cheeky.

Busy car park, but it is shared with the Premier Inn which is next door.

The restaurant itself is vast, loads of tables.  As you go in you queue at the till to pay, you also order your drink, you are handed an glass with ice if you order a soft drink (they are refillable) and whatever other drink you have ordered, then you trot off to find yourself a table.  Staff are great, really friendly, and they explain how it all works if you have not been before.

So, we got our table and headed off to check out the food. Imagine a motorway service station canteen and you wouldn't be far wrong, only you can have a bit of everything.  A lot of the dishes were empty though, pr just had half a portion left.
I started with a slice of pizza, cauliflower cheese, vegetable korma with rice, chips and corn on the cob.

Although the place boasts a "chip shop" section, they were just frozen (school dinner type) chips, although sadly, the nicest thing on the plate !
The pizza was ok, cheap 'tinny' tomato sauce and barely cooked base, but they had an impressive pizza oven.  The cauliflower cheese was watery and tasteless, I usually love cauli-cheese, but this was awful. The vegetable korma wasn't any better, in fact worse !  The vegetables in it were new potatoes (with skin) peas and cauli, and again, tasteless. Corn on the cob was shrivelled and cold.

I ate the pizza and chips and decided to try again !

This time I went for cheesy pasta bake, potato wedges (just two as that was all that was left) and another slice of pizza with chips as I knew I would eat those.

The pasta bake, like the cauliflower cheese, was watery and tastless - so dissapointing.

In the end I decided that the best food in Taybarns for a Vegetarian was this......

A chip & bean butty  :)


Hubby fared a little better, he went for the Carvery and got some good chunks of turkey, hand carved.  Veg was un-seasoned and luke-warm.  He liked the yorkshire puds though.

His second plate said a lot !  Yorkshire puddings, naan bread and nachos.  :)

A good range of deserts, again help yourself.  There was three jugs of cream, all with crusty tide marks inside the jugs, two were empty.

I couldn't decide between bakewell tart and victoria sponge, so I chose the smallest slices of each and had both  :)

The bakewell tart was delicious, the best thing I had tasted in there. The victoria sponge was not so nice with an incredibly sweet sickly butter cream inside, to sweet to stomach to be honest.  So you will impressed to hear I only ate one pud after all :)

Hubby had chocolate fudge cake with ice cream, which he said was "alright".

We went to a lot of buffet restaurants when we were in the USA and if this place could get it right they could be right up there with the best.  The UK is crying out for a place like this BUT the food needs to be HOT and the quality much better.

Definately a case of quantity over quality.  Would we be back?  Probably not, although £5.00 for a bottle of wine (yes really)

...... and refillable soft drinks, plus £8.25 for as much as you can physically stuff in is a tempting offer.

Here is their website.

http://www.taybarns.com/

Let us know if you go.

Chopsticks/Chinese/Didcot

Sorry followers, no food photos for this blog due to technical issues (i.e. forgetting camera!!)

We fancied a Chinese meal while in Oxfordshire, and this buffet style restaurant was suggested.

No private parking, but on an evening you can get parked on the street outside.

The price on the website on a Sunday evening was £12.95, but once in it was actually £14.95.

Nice & clean inside with some lovely decos and a water fountain, along with a huge fish tank. Quite pleasant surroundings.

The buffet states you can have two starters per person, or 5 starters between 4 of you.

A selection was ordered including some Vegetarian Won Tons. These were the worst thing I have ever been served in a restaurant. They had one half of a cashew nut in the parcel (I checked each one, and one half of a nut in each!!) and they were so over cooked and burnt they just crumbled. However the seaweed was lovely. We asked for a sweet & sour sauce for dipping the starters in and was told we would have to pay £1.00 extra for each pot !!! So much for all you can eat!

For a second course there was a choice of 5 options, but you could only order two between four people. Once the Satay Mushrooms was ordered for the fussy vegetarian (me) there was just one option left for the other three. Although there was plenty of food, and the mushrooms were really nice.

When the second course plates were removed I put my fork on the empty plates to go to the kitchen, the waitress took it off, holding it by the prongs, and dropped it on the tablecloth in front of me. Obviously I was supposed to keep it for my main course, but once she had had her fingers all over the bit that was to go in my mouth, it kinda put me off a bit, so I put it back on the plate. She promptly picked it back up, again by the prongs, and again dropped it in front of me on the tablecloth, without a word.

The main course orders were taken after we had finished the second course. The waiter took the order, went into the kitchen and brought it all straight back out with him. It was unbelievable, and frankly concerning.

I had ordered Vegetable Curry without onions or peppers, and it was colder than luke warm and gritty, like the curry mix had not been mixed in properly.

I had to re-order rice and noodles as they all came with onions, this time they took ages to arrive as obviously they had to cook them from fresh, but the noodles were chewy - never had chewy noodles before, they were not very nice.

Hubby said his food was nothing better than mediocre.

The staff were a pain in the bum, you don't mind being asked once or twice if everything is ok, but we were asked constantly, while we were having starters we were asked four times by four different serving staff, and this pattern continued throughout the meal.

So, would I go back? No, food was poor, service poor. Certainly not worth the money.

In case you want to try, here are the details:

Chopsticks

126, Broadway,

Didcot,

Oxon

OX11 8AB

Tel: 01235 813333

http://www.chopsticks-restaurant.co.uk/didcot/home.html

At Thai/Thai/Oxford

Sorry followers, no food photos for this blog due to technical issues (i.e. forgetting camera!!)

During a trip to Oxfordshire, and upon recommendation, we decided to try this Thai Restaurant on Oxford High Street.

Parking is a nightmare in Oxford, especially in the town centre.

The restaurant is up a good set of stairs, no good for disabled or people who find steps a struggle.

Inside it's a little "unkempt", could do with someone in to tidy up trailing cables and to do a splash of painting to freshen it up.

The toilets were up another flight of stairs, with a really grubby carpet, and beside the toilet was a pair of stained rubber gloves (obviously used for cleaning the pot) which was quite unpleasant !!

Nice modern tables and chairs though.

The staff were obliging, happy to help, drinks orders were taken and prawn crackers delivered as soon as we arrived.

I fancied Vegetable Tempura for a starter, but it wasn't on the main menu, although it was on a Special menu further into the menu. I asked if I could have it and they were more than happy to make it for me. Pity about the couple of peppers I bit into when I specifically asked for no onions or peppers though. Otherwise a lovely, tasty dish.

For main I went for Pad Thai, I love this dish and have it a lot, but this one was magnificent. The best one I have ever tasted. Delicious. And they got the "no onions or peppers" bit right too.

Total bill for 4 people was just £80 ! This was for 4 starters, 4 mains, 2 sides, 2 soft drinks and a bottle of wine.

Would definately go back as the food was fabulous, but they do need to have a bit of a whip round with a hoover & duster.

Here are the details for you.

At Thai
129A High St,

Oxford

OX1 4DF

01865 245603 ‎

http://www.atthaioxford.com/

Dil Raj/Indian/Abingdon

Sorry followers, no food photos for this blog due to technical issues (i.e. forgetting camera!!)

During a trip to Oxfordshire, we were invited out by friends to The Dil Raj, Indian restaurant in Abingdon, near Oxford.

We did book, and good job as it was quite busy, although it looked like a few of the tables might have been Christmas parties so it might not always be that busy.

On sitting down we were offered Poppadoms and our drink orders were taken.

Poppadoms were crisp, tasty and served with 6 different, gorgeous dips in a revolving dip tray.

I started with a Vegetable Samosa - two gorgeously crisp triangles stuffed to bursting with tasty vegetables, they were huge and served with a beautiful dressed salad.

They were followed with two side orders, rather than a main course, of Mottor Paneer (Peas with Indian Cheese) and a fabulous dish - Gobi & Pumpkin (Slow cooked cauliflower with tasty pumpkin immersed in mixed seeds and spices ) which was amazing !

We shared Rices and Naans, both of which was delicious.

Prices were great, and the house wine, which was a lovely Chilean Merlot, was only £10.50 a bottle.

Total bill came to £105 for 4 people, poppudums, starters, rices, bread, 3 bottles of wine and 2 soft drinks.

Will definately be back someday.

Here are their contact details.

Dil Rajh

6 Ock Street

Abingdon

OX14 5AW

01235 553 305

http://dilrajabingdon.co.uk/

Stanwix Tandoori/Indian/Carlisle

After not visiting this restaurant for a long time, it was suggested we should give it a go.

Situated on Stanwix Bank, above the shops, you need to walk up a flight of stairs, so no good if you cannot manage steps.

You cannot park outside, but there is a car park opposite - you have to take the risk and cross 4 lanes of traffic though, not hugely recommended. Otherwise you can sometimes park around the back on the residential streets.

We went on a Monday evening, at around 8.45pm. We were the only ones in except for some friends of the waiter in the bar area, and no one else came to dine whilst we were there.

The usual Indian fayre on the menu, no special Veggie dishes apart from the usual side dishes, but all curries available with 'mixed veg'.

Ordered the house wine, which was nearly see-through raspberry pink, rather than a nice deep red wine.

We started with a poppodum each with dips.

For starters I had Vegetable Pakora.

The portion sizes were quite large, nice tasting Pakoras served with fresh salad and Mint Sauce.

Hubby had Chicken Pakora, again a large portion and tasted nicely seasoned with a crisp batter.

For a main I decided to go for Vegetable Biryani, served with Vegetable Curry. I asked for no onions & the waiter went to the trouble of checking I wasn't allergic to onions as although there would be no chunks they were used to make the base of the sauce. Great service.

Unfortunately the rice in the Biryani was cold, although the veg curry was piping hot. I sent the rice back and they re-heated it for me, but really there isn's an excuse for cold food when we were the only people in the restaurant !!

The rice tasted nice, but the curry sauce was very very bland, it tasted like my home-made vegetable soup before being seasoned. What a shame. It was so bland that I didn't even bother asking for the left-overs (which there was quite a bit of) to take home. I should have gone for a curry dish perhaps.

Hubby had Chicken Tikka platter, came on a sizzling dish with just chicken, which was unusual - usually there are onions on the platter too, but this was just chicken. He said it was nice though.

He had egg fried rice (which was also cold) and we shared some chips. The chips were gorgeous, great big fat ones that tasted home-made.

We also shared a Paratha (fried bread), which was gorgeous, really tasty.

I think we need to return and try something else, as sadly what we had for mains wasn't too exciting due to lack of flavours.

No website that I can find, but here are the contact details.

Stanwix Tandoori

11a Scotland Rd

Carlisle

Cumbria

CA3 9HR

Tel: 01228 531495

Feel free to comment.