What's on the menu?

What's on the menu?

Saturday 26 May 2012

Larch Farm, Ravenshead Review. A great option for a Nottingham Fish Lover

I'm a big fish lover however aside from Loch Fyne there's very little specific options around Nottingham for someone that really loves fish on the menu. There's usually 3-4 fish courses no matter where you go and they're usually fairly standard choices.

Larch Farm Restaurant and BB is situated just off the A60 in the affluent village of Ravenshead.

Larch farm advertise on the main road their prime catch seafood. Whether it's mussels, scampi or salmon they have something for everyone

My Starter.
Scallops with Chorizo and Lemon Salsa
Scallops with Chorizo and Lemon Salsa at Larch Farm, Ravenshead
Awesome huge slices of chorizo topped with some large succulent scallops and drizzled with lemon salsa to provide saltyness from from the chorizo and zestyness from the salsa. A gorgeous starter although for me there was maybe a little too much salad. I know people that could have had this as a main on it's own!

Main Course
Jumbo Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas 
Jumbo Fish and Homemade Chips with Mushy Peas at Larch Farm, Ravenshead
A huge piece of fish of over a foot long (this is a giant, not a regualar plate) which came out in what appeared to be more of a tempura batter than the usual batter you'd expect. Coupled with soft moist cod this was one fantastic pieces of fish. The chips were more like chip-shop chips and to me could have done with a little longer in the fryer,

Saturday 19 May 2012

The Clock Warehouse Pub Shardlow- 2 For A Tenner Review

Heading out to meet a friend from the Derby area recently it was questionned- where could we meet for a drink and a bite to eat on a Friday evening. I remember going down the Canal at Shardlow, Derbyshire with the family when I was little but would never have been able to remember where prior to a recent cycling training ride which took me through Shardlow and over the Canal past The Clock Warehouse.
The Clock Warehouse, Shardlow. An old converted mill on the Trent and Mersey Canal
From the exterior this does not look like a run of the mill chain pub despite being run by Marstons the Clock Warehouse has a real character. It also has fantastic access to the nearby Heritage Centre Museum next door and is very close to Shardlow Marina so you can really make the most of a visit.

Lots of pubs and restaurants seem to want to offer two meals for a set price these days and if you're out on a budget it means you can get exceptional value for money. Sometimes the menu can be a little bit limited but if you're willing to have a slightly limited choice it allows a meal on a budget.

I personally ordered a Traditional Beef Burger (without salad) and this bad boy came out
Awesome size Traditional Beef Burger at the Clock Warehouse, Shardlow

I would estimate that my burger must have been about 8oz. It was huge and tasted fantastic. I've had pub burgers before when they've been more like a flat patty- Not here.

Add to it some fantastic chunky chips that came out piping hot, crispy on the outside and ultra fluffy on the inside and you have a fantastic pub style meal.

My fellow diner went for their Farmhouse Pie and was also quite shocked by the size
Farmhouse Pie at the Clock Warehouse, Shardlow
The only negative for us was that we didn't attend on a better evening where we would have been able to have gone for a walk down the canal and seen the beauty of the area. I'm sure we'll return at some point in the summer for a review of that too!





The White Horse Cafe. Searching for Nottinghams best takeaway food

Searching for Nottinghams best takeaway food

The White Horse Cafe. Radford, Nottingham
The White Horse Cafe, Radford, Nottingham
The old White Horse Inn Public House in Radford has been converted into a cafe, takeaway and sheesha bar while maintaining it's beautiful old style pub frontage
The Old Pub style frontage of the White Horse is from it's former days as a public house
While it looks impressive from the main road and in stark contrast to the modern surrounding student accomodation of Raleigh Court and the Opal complex, a cafe and restaurant is ultimately judged on it's food. The White Horse Cafe specialises in Curries, Pizza and Kebabs to help try to satisfy the local students appetite for economical yet hearty food.
Home style Chicken and Lamb Curries feshly prepared at the White Horse
I love a nice simple lunch. especially when I'm at work so often tend to go for a home style curry. The White Horse always have a good selection on offer as well as home style lamb and chicken options which are extremely popular in takeaways around the Radford area.

My Homestyle Curry from the White Horse, Nottingham

Homestyle Chicken Curry from the White Horse Nottingham

When you look at the curry above you can definitely see a lot of one thing- chicken. The portions of curries from teh White Horse aways have a good healthy amount of meat which is what I personally look for in a Curry. I'm looking for flavour and i'm looking for a healthy amount of meat

The home style curry tastes great. It is slightly on the spicy side. You can pick out a couple of pieces of green chillies in the photo above and these clearly add a kick to the curry

Overall a nice lunch time Curry.

Directions to find the White Horse Cafe from Google


View Larger Map

Monday 7 May 2012

How to best start a day in Nottingham shopping

Nottingham is a fantastic city for shopping, whether you want to hit the main department stores in Victoria Centre or the Old Market Square, the major chains of Clumber Street or hitting the designer shopping area around Bridlesmith Gate there's no better way of starting a day's worth of shopping than breakfast and coffee.

My personal favourite is Cafe Nero on Bridlesmith Gate. There's a nice atmosphere in there and the barista's are really friendly unlike those usually found in Costa and Starbucks. Cafe Nero on Bridlesmith gate also serves the best Italian Double Espresso in Nottingham in my opinion.

Double Espresso and an Almond Croissant from Cafe Nero, Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham

Enjoy your coffee before you start your shopping in Nottingham