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Smokies Park Hotel, Ashton Road, Bardsley, Oldham.
Date of visit: New Years Eve 2008. Time of visit: 20:00. Cuisine: Modern British. Website: Smokies Park Hotel
For New Years Eve this year we went with G and A to the Smokies Park hotel near Oldham. They were doing a dinner dance for £52.50 a head which included a five-course meal and coffee, a DJ and a band. In the past I've been to New Years Eve 'do's where the meal has been served either too quickly or too late but tonight it was just right, allowing plenty of time - but not too much - to listen to the band and have a bop. Plus, the food was pretty good for a hotel function. For starters G and I had Duck Terrine wrapped in Parma ham whilst A and Carol had Glazed Goats cheese. We then had a very refreshing Champagne Sorbet and for mains G and I had Seared Sea Bass and A and Carol had Roast Sirloin of Beef. For pudding G had Iced Nougatine Parfait and the rest of us had White Chocolate and Baileys Boule; this latter dish caused a lot of confusion as it was served in cappuccino cups which led most revellers to believe that the pudding course had been omitted! We then had a very generous platter of assorted cheeses followed by coffee and Petit Fours. Then came the entertainment, which was advertised in the festive brochure as the Breaker Band, a 'fabulous party pop covers band' but - I've since found out - turned out to be a different band fronted by a blonde singer from Bradford with a sore throat; most of the guests weren't impressed with her but I thought she was okay, especially when she came out for the second set having apparently forgotten to put a skirt on! All in all, though, it was a very enjoyable New Years Eve. Thoughtfully, the hotel served breakfast the following day until noon, which was nice.
Another nice touch: when checking out I asked the receptionist if there was a charge for the 'complimentary' Independent that we took away with us and she said no. When I checked the Amex receipt against the bill later that day I noticed that they'd charged me £1 more than the bill stated but just assumed that they'd been a bit cheeky and charged for the paper (the Indy costs £1). Not a problem, I thought, and definitely not worth querying but when I checked my Amex account online a few days later I noticed that they'd credited me with £1. A trifling matter but a nice touch and the type of gesture that would make you go back and recommend it to others. It reminded me of our honeymoon in the Waldorf Astoria; Carol and I had both ordered the Full American (breakfast) one morning but Carol didn't fancy any of the hot food and just ate from the cold buffet. When the bill came we were only charged for one American and one Continental so, obviously, the waiters had observed what we'd eaten and only charged us accordingly. I was impressed.
Bill: Approximately £325 for four including a massive bar bill!
Would I go back? Yes.
Saim's, Bradford Road, Huddersfield.
Date of visit: Sunday 28 December 2008. Time of visit: 17:15. Cuisine: Halal Pakistani. Website: http://www.saims.co.uk
I quite like Saim's; for one thing they do a delicious Lamb Sookah Bhuna which is served on the bone. They've now introduced an excellent buffet / banquet at £8.99 a head. There are poppadums with pickles and salads to start with. You then get as many of eight starters as you fancy; these are cooked fresly and served to your table and include chicken tikka, king prawn tikka and masala fried fish. Eight or nine different curries, including at least three vegetarian ones, are then served up in individual-sized karais and placed on warmers for you to help yourself. Breads and rice are served to your table. There's also an excellent sweet selection including Gulab Jaman, Ras Malai, Indian rice pudding, fresh fruit and that carrot-based dessert whose name escapes me for the moment. An excellent meal and first-rate service. The £7.99 wine I chose had run out so they just asked me to choose another from the list and they would only charge me £7.99. Not wanting to take advantage too much, I chose a £9.99 bottle of Cotes du Rhone and, even though I would have happily paid full price for the second one, they still only charged us £7.99 for it.
Bill: £34 for two. We had the £8.99 banquet and two bottles of Cotes du Rhone - it's still Christmas!
Would I go back? Definitely.
Georgetown, Briggate, Leeds.
Date of visit: Saturday 27 December 2008. Time of visit: 12:45. Cuisine: 'Colonial Malaysian'. Website: The Georgetown
I first heard about the Georgetown through Pat Chapman's Good Curry Restaurant Guide and had been meaning to try it for a while. Having checked their website, I noticed that they offered a Christmas lunch throughout December starting at £18.50 a head and was expecting to be offered this but was pleasantly surprised when the waiter gave us the normal lunch menu at £10 for two courses or £12.50 for three courses. For starters Carol had Kl Tim Sum (vegetarian Tim Sum with asparagus, carrots, green peas, chestnuts, capsicum and sweetcorn in Chinese bamboo baskets) and I had Chicken Murtabak (Malaysian Indian bread layered with minced chicken and toasted on a griddle). Carol then had Gulai Ayam (delicately spiced chicken pieces cooked in Malay style with coconut milk accompanied with basmati rice and seasonal vegetables) whilst I had Roti Dan Kambing (tender lamb delicately flavoured with coconut milk, potatoes and carrots served with roti chanai and pan fried green beans). For dessert we both had Tropical Fruit Salad (starfruit, longan, guava, jackfruit, melons, tender coconut, toddy palm and other seasonal fruit with a hint of amaretto). A truly delicious meal; my only minor reservation was that the breads were slightly overdone.
Bill: £56 for two including an optional 10% service charge. We both had the three-course lunch washed down with two bottles of their South African house white - it is Christmas, after all!
Would I go back? Definitely.
Bradley's, Fitzwilliam Street, Huddersfield.
Date of visit: Boxing Day 2008. Time of visit: 17:30. Cuisine: Modern British. Website: http://www.bradleyscatering.co.uk
Carol and I have been regular patrons of Bradley's since it opened. Indeed, we also used to frequent its predecessors, Paris and - back in the 80s - Pisces. Lately however, since Andrew - the proprietor - opened a branch in Bradford, we feel that he's taken his eye off the ball with regard to his Huddersfield operation, having seemingly employed a succession of managers over the last 18 months or so. We've definitely noticed a dropping off of the previous high standards, epitomized by the very disappointing French-themed night earlier this year. But, as Carol was working until five today, we decided to take advantage of their Boxing Day Prime Time menu, a bargain at £20 for three courses and half a bottle of wine. From the extensive menu Carol chose a warm leaf salad followed by roast beef and Yorkshire pudding whilst I had a vegetable and pearl barley broth followed by steak and vegetable casserole-cum-pie (it came with a puff pastry lid). For dessert we both had strawberries with creme chantilly and shortbread biscuits. Some of the meat in my casserole was a bit overdone but, other than that, it was a very enjoyable meal. One other criticism: as with the fondly-remembered Thorpe Grange Manor in Almondbury, an otherwise top-notch restaurant, it lets itself down by employing young staff who are not very knowledgeable about food and drink i.e. their stock-in-trade; some training wouldn't go amiss.
Bill: £40 for two. We both had the Prime Time three-course meal that included half a bottle of house wine each.
Would I go back? Yes.
Shabab, New Street, Huddersfield.
Date of visit: Tuesday 23 December 2008. Time of visit: 18:00. Cuisine: Indian. Website: Shabab
Shababs - for some reason it tends to get pluralized - is Huddersfield's longest-running Indian restaurant, having been established in the 70s. As with all half-decent Huddersfield establishments Carol and I have been fairly regular patrons since the 80s. I always preferred the buffet lunches to the evening a la carte menu but now they do a mega-buffet all evening although, IMHO, it's a bit pricey at £9.99 a head. What's good? Very good curries with a mixture of non-vegetarian and vegetarian, good choice of sweets including kulfi, barfi and fruit, coffee included. What's not so good? The starters are always pretty average; if I were a betting man - which sometimes I am - I'd give ten to one that they're micro'ed; further, as is often the case with buffets, they could pay more attention to ensuring that the curries are kept piping hot. That said, I've lost count of the number of times we've been to Shababs and I'd still recommend it.
Bill: £30 for two. We had the £9.99 mega-buffet and a litre carafe of house rose.
Would I go back? More than likely.
Home Town Chinese, Northgate, Huddersfield.
Date of visit: Saturday 20 December 2008. Time of visit: 18:15. Cuisine: Chinese. Website: The Home Town
There has been a Chinese restaurant on these premises in various guises for well over a decade. Approximately 12 months ago it reopened as the Home Town and, as the name implies, it offers many dishes that you don't find at the standard High Street Chinese restaurant in a provincial town. Unfortunately, most of these tend to be too laden with chillies for Carol's tastes. Having been caught out before, we decided to play it safe tonight, opting for a half aromatic crispy duck at £13 followed by mixed seafood (scallops, squid and king prawns) with spring onion and ginger. The meal was very enjoyable although we overdid it with the duck; next time we'll just have a quarter duck and two main courses.
Bill: £35.40 for two. We had a half aromatic crispy duck, a main course, a portion of soft noodles and a litre bottle of house white.
Would I go back? More than likely.
Nando's, John William Street, Huddersfield.
Date of visit: Monday 15 December 2008. Time of visit: 14:30. Cuisine: Portuguese. Website: http://www.nandos.co.uk
Of all the popular chain restaurants Nando's - along with Pizza Express - is, IMHO, easily the best and they are the only ones that we frequent regularly. Okay, the fries are McCains - I've seen them being delivered early doors - and the rice is pretty much Bachelor's savoury rice but the chicken is always very tasty and well cooked. Carol always has the lemon & herb and I usually have piri-piri hot; for just over £8 you get half a chicken and two sides which isn't bad value.
Bill: £31 for two. We both had half chicken platters which come with two regular sides. To drink, we shared a bottle of house red and I also had a bottle of Savanna cider from South Africa.
Would I go back? More than likely.
Don Giovannis, Oxford Street, Manchester.
Date of visit: Saturday 13 December 2008. Time of visit: 12:45. Cuisine: Italian. Website: http://www.dongiovannis.co.uk
Before Don Giovannis moved to bigger and more upmarket premises on the other side of Oxford Street it was a very reliable, unassuming little Italian pizzeria. Carol and I enjoyed many a late night pizza there after a Champions League match. It's still very good but it's obvious that they've tried to move up a notch, upping the prices and trying to concentrate more on the carni and pesce dishes rather than the more humble pizzas and pastas. I was hoping that the lunch menu was on but when I asked the waiter for it he rather snootily replied "No, it's Christmas now." Memo to said waiter: next time you are asked for the lunch menu the correct response is "I'm sorry sir/madam, it's not available in December." Docked half a star accordingly. For starters Carol and I shared a portion of garlic pizza bread with mozzarella and G and A shared a bruschetta. For mains I had Osso Bucco (veal shank slow-cooked in red wine, shallots, garlic and herbs served on a bed of tomato risotto), Carol had Farfalle al Salmone (pasta with smoked salmon), G had Shinko di Agnello (slow cooked lamb shank in red wine, tomato, shallots and fresh herbs) and A had a chicken dish, if I recall correctly. We all had typical Italian sweets; my Panacotta di Fogi (fig and spice panacotta) was exceptional. All in all, a very good meal although rather pricey for lunch.
Bill: £113 for four. We had two 'bread' starters between four, four main courses, four desserts, a bottle of house red, a glass of house red, a glass of pudding wine, an amaretto, a liqueur coffee and two cappuccinos.
Would I go back? More than likely.
Argento Steakhouse, John William Street, Huddersfield.
Date of visit: Friday 12 December 2008. Time of visit: 17:10. Cuisine: Argentinian. Website: http://www.argentosteakhouse.com
Carol and I have been regular patrons of Argento since it opened a few years ago. We always ensure that we're in time for the excellent value early bird; there's just one snag, you have to cook it yourself! They give you a 'hot rock' and you cook your steak or whatever yourself, small pieces at a time. We went tonight to see Fozzy off before he goes to the USA for Christmas. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they were doing the early bird so late into December. Carol started with chicken empanada and Fozzy and I had the marinated ox tongue which was much nicer than it sounds. For mains we all had sirloins with chips and salad. Excellent meal and excellent value.
Bill: £84 for three. We had the two-course early bird, two bottles of Argento Malbec and three liqueur coffees.
Would I go back? Most definitely.
The White Gate, Leeds Road, Mirfield.
Date of visit: Sunday 7 December 2008. Time of visit: Noon. Cuisine: Chain pub. Website: The Whitegate Mirfield
I tend to give chain pubs a wide berth but, as Carol and I were visiting Whiteleys Garden Centre next door, we decided to give the White Gate another go. We both had the regular-sized turkey lunch @ £5.99 - actually £5.87 after Gordon Brown's wholly cynical and gimmicky VAT reduction - which consists of two slices of ersatz turkey, ersatz roast potatoes, garden peas, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower all served in half a giant Yorkshire pudding. Not bad but not brilliant, pretty much what you'd expect really, but definitely a notch above Brewers Fayre. The very quaffable house red - an Australian Shiraz - is an absolute bargain at £6.49 a pop.
Bill: £18.23 for two. We had two main courses and a bottle of house red.
Would I go back? Probably.
Brasserie Chez Gerard, Albert Square, Manchester.
Date of visit: Saturday 29 November 2008. Time of visit: 17:00. Cuisine: Quasi-French. Website: http://www.brasseriechezgerard.co.uk
We arrived at Chez Gerard, a so-called all-day restaurant, at 16:50 and were told to come back at 17:00 as they were preparing for the evening session. This was a first for me and set the evening off to a distinctly inauspicious start, especially so as it must have been the coldest day of the winter so far and we'd still been in Tenerife 15 hours previously! They didn't even offer us a drink at the bar; no matter, I'll keep an open mind, I thought. As it was a Saturday the menu prix fixe was not available, although the waitress didn't know without having to check. Carol had chicken and chips, A had turkey steak and G and myself had Lamb Tagine and Chicken Tagine respectively. The tagine was tasty enough although a bit bland for my taste and, predictably, was not served as hot as I would have liked. The desserts weren't bad; Carol and A both had Grand Marnier Souffle, G had a Liegeois - an ice-cream concoction - and I had Crepes Suzette. In summary, average and overpriced.
Bill: £95 for four. We had four main courses, four desserts and two bottles of house red.
Would I go back? No.
Runway Brasserie, Radisson Hotel, Manchester Airport.
Date of visit: Friday 21 November 2008. Time of visit: 16:30. Cuisine: International. Website: n/a.
Having checked the Manchester Airport website for 'refuelling' options prior to our trip to Tenerife, I was disappointed at the paucity of facilities available - the reason soon became apparent when we saw the refurbishments that are taking place in Terminal 1 - so we plumped for the Runway Brasserie in the Radisson hotel between T1 and T2. As to be expected, the food and wine were hideously expensive - £20 for house wine, anyone? - and nothing special; Carol had salmon which was a better choice than my Wienerschitzel. However, it was still a much better and infinitely more relaxing way to kick off the holiday than using the facilities that await you once you've gone through security and, for this reason, gains an extra star.
Bill: £48.50 for two. We had two main courses and a bottle of house red.
Would I go back? Quite possibly; depends on what Terminal 1 has to offer when the redevelopment of the amenities is complete.
Grappolo, Water Street, Lockwood, Huddersfield.
Date of visit: Sunday 16 November 2008. Time of visit: 17:30. Cuisine: Italian. Website: http://www.grappolorestaurant.co.uk
There has been a restaurant on this site for over twenty years; if memory serves me well it was originally a short-lived, over-ambitious French restaurant then a Caribbean one. Carol and I tried them both; in fact we had a very enjoyable Valentine's dinner with Paul and Mo at the Caribbean place - I had the ubiquitous goat curry! It then became Ciao, an Italian that I felt was hoping to become very trendy; again, we tried it on a couple of occasions. But for a number of years now it has been Grappolo, another Italian, and tonight was our fourth or fifth visit. It gets very busy on a Sunday evening, even at such an early hour, so we decided to book in advance to be on the safe side; had we turned up unannounced and not been able to get a table we'd have had to trek into town as there are no other restaurants in Lockwood.
For starters Carol and I shared the Antipasto Della Casa which was very nice although the portion wasn't especially generous for £7.50 and S and B shared a portion of Focaccia Pomodoro Con Aglio, garlic pizza bread with tomato to give it its English name. We then all had Specialita Della Casa - as opposed to the cheaper pizza and pasta dishes - which came with a choice of chips, vegetables or mixed salad. I had Fegato Al Timo E Vino Bianca (calves liver) - the waitress asked if I was happy for it to be served 'a la chef' which I realised meant pink - which was very tasty and cooked to perfection although there was too much spinach with it for my liking. As tends to be the norm Carol had chicken - Pollo Funghetto on this occasion - and S and B had Saltimbocca Alla Romana (veal) and Coscia D'Agnello Brasato (lamb shank) respectively.
At the end of the meal the very accommodating lady who runs front of house - and does so very efficiently and with a friendly manner that certain people, though not myself, would deem to be verging on the over-familiar - brought us complimentary Limoncellas. Which was nice!
Bill: £87 for four. We had two starters, four speciality main courses, two bottles of house white and a soft drink.
Would I go back? More than likely.
Gurkha Thali, Half Moon Street, Huddersfield.
Date of visit: Friday 31 October 2008. Time of visit: 18:10. Cuisine: Nepalese. Website: http://www.gurkhathali.com
First, some history. There has been a restaurant at this address for as long as I can remember. Originally it was the Cherry Tree Chinese and the scene of one of our first dates. I remember that we sat next to Mark Barham, Huddersfield Town and England footballer - there's five words that you rarely see in the same sentence! Since then it has been, at various times, China Castle (another Chinese), Jade (a slightly more upmarket Chinese), Casa de Balti (a 'homestyle' cuisine offshoot of the Nawaab opposite), Saffron (Indian buffet), Yak and Yeti (Nepalese and Bhutanese) and Gurkha Grill (an unsuccessful rebranding of Yak and Yeti). I remember telling the owner of Yak and Yeti soon after it had opened - actually reopened under (his) new management - that there was a lot of competition such as Nawaab and Kebabeesh in that area of town and he was very dismissive of Kebabeesh, stating that he did not consider it as competition. I thought to myself "It will still be going long after you're gone" - his manner towards customers was arrogant and aloof - and so it has proved.
Back to Gurkha Thali. It opened a few weeks ago under new management that is much more clued-up. The last time we were there the manager gave us some vouchers, one of the offers being a free bottle of house wine for two or more diners so we thought we'd take advantage - rude not to, especially as the food is actually pretty good. When we arrived five minutes after opening time a workman was still busy affixing some decorative patterns to the windows; not a very good start as that sort of thing really should be done outside of opening hours. Another thing that annoys me is when they're still using the vacuum cleaner as you arrive. No matter, once we were seated the manager immediately brought us complementary poppadoms and pickle tray then I handed him the voucher and he brought us a complementary bottle of the quaffable French house red. For starters Carol and I shared a Chicken Tikka main course - Chicken Tikka Pokhara on the menu but Chicken Tikka by any other name - which was excellent and not far off the late, lamented Gaylord's standard. For main course Carol had Khukhura Aloo (chicken with potatoes in a typical Nepalese sauce) and I had Jhinge Machha (prawns cooked in Nepalese spices and herbs). We also shared Bhuteko Bhat (fried rice with vegetables and eggs) and a plain naan. My only complaint about the food was that my dish was slightly too salty but that often seems to be the case whenever and wherever we eat out; we put it down to the fact that we've pretty much cut out salt when cooking at home. When the bill came I noticed that he hadn't charged us for the Chicken Tikka - they do an early bird special whereby you get one main course free for each one purchased but I fully expected to be charged for everything as we'd had the free bottle of wine ('offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer blah blah' as it usually states) - so I left a fairly generous tip of £4.
Bill: £26 for two. The meal consisted of three main courses, rice, naan bread, two bottles of house wine - we thought it rude not to have a second one as the first one was free! - and complimentary poppadoms and pickle tray.
Would I go back? At that price, most definitely.
Moja, St. Peters Street, Huddersfield.
Date of visit: Tuesday 28 October 2008. Time of visit: 17:40. Cuisine: Bengali. Website: http://www.mojarestaurant.co.uk
Carol and I have been regular patrons of Moja since it opened in March 2007. The food is good and reasonably priced. Its USP, unusually for a 'proper' Indian restaurant as opposed to a Bradford-style cafe such as the Kashmir, is that it's BYO so you're not having to pay the standard 200% mark-up on wine. They do a two-course set meal for £9 every day except Friday and Saturday which, of course, we availed ourselves of. Carol started with chicken tikka which is normally very good but tonight was a bit too hot - as in spicy - for her. I had the excellent salmon aloo cutler (I think that should be cutlet), described on the menu as 'mashed potato with chunky pieces of salmon with spice and herbs'. Interestingly, on the menu it's listed under Vegetable Appetisers, as is the fish masala! For the main course I had Bombay Chicken and Carol had Chicken Karai and we shared a portion of peas pilau and a plain naan. My Bombay Chicken was excellent as ever but I'm not over keen on the way they do the Chicken Karai here as, instead of decent-sized chunks of chicken, they use very small pieces and, moreover, it's chicken tikka so it gives the sauce that smokey, barbecued flavour that I'm not a lover of.
Bill: £18 for two but no poppadoms, sweets or drinks.
Would I go back? Yes, most definitely.
San Rocco, Stamford Square, Ashton-under-Lyne.
Date of visit: Saturday 25 October 2008. Time of visit: 18:45. Cuisine: Italian. Website: http://www.sanrocco.co.uk/ashton.htm
The San Rocco is part of a small Manchester-based chain of Italian restaurants that includes the long-established Cesare in the city centre. There was nothing wrong with the meal but neither was it anything special; it's certainly not as good as Cesare. G and A both started with Bruschetta which looked very nice and Carol and I shared some garlic pizza bread with tomato, which wasn't bad but not as good as Huddersfield's Da Sandro's version. G then had veal, A had a Pizza Calzone, Carol had a pasta dish with salmon and I had monkfish which was pleasant enough although there was something about the sauce I wasn't particularly keen on. Vegetables were included with the veal and monkfish; carrots and green beans which were cooked just right and 'roast' potatoes which were actually deep-fried as opposed to roasted, in fact what you'd expect from a chain pub rather than a 'proper' restaurant. We all finished with typical Italian sweets including tiramisu, chocolate fudge cake and chocolate mousse.
Bill: £83 for four including four glasses of house white but no coffee.
Would I go back? Yes, but it's unlikely so long as the excellent Indian Ocean is still going strong in Ashton.
Noor, Leeds Road, Huddersfield.
Date of visit: Friday 24 October 2008. Time of visit: 20:00. Cuisine: Kashmiri. Website: n/a.
I quite like Noor as the food is very good and they do a number of Kashmiri specialities. It's also very reasonably priced and, importantly for a slow eater such as myself, they provide dish warmers heated by t-lights. My main criticism is that it's shabby, for example carpets that haven't been vacuumed for a while, stained menus, dish-warmers that are stained, wine glasses that you need to polish etc. However, the food is very good and reasonably priced. Carol had a Rogan Josh, Fozzy had a Punjabi Lamb and I had a King Prawn Hydrabadi. We also shared an Aloo Gobi side dish, a portion of lemon rice and two plain naans. My King Prawn Hydrabadi was gorgeous, if a little milder than I was expecting. I chose better than Fozzy and Carol; Fozzy's dish tasted a bit vinegary to me and Carol's Rogan Josh was always going to suffer in comparison to the Gaylord's version. Also, as seems to be the case throughout the UK, if you ask for tap water the waiters suddenly become mutt or else suffer from a severe case of short-term memory loss!
Bill: £47 for three, no starters but including two bottles of house red and complimentary poppadoms and pickle tray.
Would I go back? Yes. The reason for tonights visit was that we'd been to the fireworks demonstration at Whiteley's garden centre and it was on the way home. The next visit will probably be after next years fireworks demonstration or possibly after a movie at the nearby cinema complex.
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