Bar Roma, Pisa. One to avoid

6th May 2013
We had a few hours to kill on the way home from Prato, so decided to get off the train in Pisa Central, put our luggage in the left luggage office (a well oiled but expensive machine at 8 Euros for 4 hours) and walk to the Field of Dream to see if the tower was still standing.
On the way, we came across Bar Roma, Via Roma 24,

which seemed busy and reasonable. We ordered a couple of pasta dishes. After half an hour they had not come, and despite protestation of 'couple of minute', we decided to cut our losses and leave. Consulting TripAdvisor after the event suggests our displeasure is quite normal.
Avoid - this place deserves to go out of business.

Il Pirana, fish restaurant (not surprisingly) in Prato, Italy

2nd May 2013
My colleague, who excels at entertaining colleagues over a meal, chose this restaurant in Prato to meet with another important colleague from France. So two Frenchmen, a German and a Brit went to this fish restaurant in downtown Prato. The restaurant is a good walk from the old center of the town, in a road that seems to lay claim to most of Prato's Restaurants, but they are well spaced out, so don't try walking up and down the road to make a choice. There is a somewhat uninviting exterior down a side road, which leads eventually into a large dining area. On the night we went (a Thursday), the place was pretty deserted, and whilst it made a great venue for a meeting, it lacked atmosphere. The restaurant website is on http://www.ristorantepirana.it/ and it even has an English translation of sorts. One of the peculiarities of the site is that is seems to encapsulate home movies of the restaurant, which are probably of lower quality than the ones I produce.

Probably the most impressive feature of the restaurant is the fresh fish display. Unfortunately there was no one who could explain the contents of the cabinet in any of the three mother tongues of our group, so we had to rely on the menu.

The prices were based on weight rather than the cost of the dish, but as a guideline, there were no main course fish under 20 Euros. The menu was devoid of mention of accompaniments, something that evaded all our our group, and we were not offered any vegetables, so all our dishes were just the fish we chose. May be it was supposed to be like that? As most of the comments on TripAdvisor are in Italian, all I can say is that the locals seem to love this place.

There was a fairly pungent amuse bouche, and to follow, I had a seafood  ravioli with scampi sauce and pine nuts, and red mullet which came with slices of fine toasted bread.

We had to wait some time for our food which was not a problem as we had a deep technical discussion under way. When the food did come, the quality was first rate, the servings were somewhat small (without accompaniment). The hotness was unimpressive (about a 7 average), but I was a guest so I let it ride.

If you want a fresh fish eating experience, then this may be a good choice, but the place lacked atmosphere, and the staff were geared up to a local clientele, and were not in a position to be helpful to us. It was quite expensive at the end of the meal, and I would not be going there as a personal choice if I went to Prato again. The website says that a tasting menu is between 50-60 Euros per person, so you get the idea. Somewhere to go if you want to impress with your knowledge of fish restaurants.

Lo Scoglio restaurant, Prato: An excellent choice for travellers and good value during the week.

1st May. Prato
It is a mistake to travel to Italy on 1st May, and to expect anything to be functioning in small towns in the afternoon. We traveled there for a meeting, as the University of Monash has a campus there. Staying in the centre of town in the quaint Hotel Flora, we found we had an immediate problem in there seemed to be almost nowhere to eat in the evening. Our hotel recommended Lo Scoglio (translates as crustacean) and said we should probably book. I booked on what looked like a mostly empty book, and when we arrived after 8, we found the place to be busy - a good sign. Check out their web site on http://www.ristoranteloscoglioprato.it/ but you may need to get Google to translate the page.The place is nothing to look at from the outside, and I gather it was a 14th century convent. There is what looked like a touristic set menu in the window, but do not be fooled by this. I had a look through the pictures I took and they pretty much speak for themselves. We did in fact opt for the fixed price menu, and it turned out to be an excellent decision.

You might not give this  a second look in the dark

Menu "never on a Saturday"

Yummy herbed bread sticks, probably home made.

A decent bottle of wine: I think it was about 15 Euros.

Antipasti: fried prawns

Primi: pappadelle pesto e pulpo: also yummy

Secondi: granfritto di mare

Desert based on fruit and mascapone.

The restaurant was definitely a lucky strike, and it was even scoring 8 or better on hotness, probably because everything was seeming freshly prepared. We enjoyed Lo Scoglio, and actually went back there for a second meal off the a la carte menu. Given that there are few restaurants frequently open in the centre of Prato, and this is the place the hotels recommend, this was a good choice. The value for money was excellent, and you really felt you had had an Italian meal for Italians.

Apsley's, a Heinz Beck Restaurant: one of my top choices in London

28th April 2013
A colleague suggested a social Sunday lunch out, and said that I should book somewhere 'nice in central London', and that she preferred fish.
So the question is, what do you do with a defunct hospital in the middle of London at a prime site? If you don't (unsuccessfully) turn it into a commercial and residential development, such as has happened to the Middlesex Hospital, you turn it into one of the best hotels with a Michelin Star restaurant (it used to be St George's Hospital). I have been to Apsley's a few times and for me it is a treat. They often have special offers for limited menu dinners and lunches, and we opted for the £35 Sunday lunch with a glass of prossecco.. It may sound a lot, but I can tell you that you get what you pay for, and I never feel that I have been overcharged for the food (the wine is a different matter). Have a look at their web site for more general information http://www.lanesborough.com/en/apsleys_restaurant_london . Although it does not say so, it is probably a reference to Apsley House, the residence of the Duke of Wellington, which is on an opposite corner of Hyde Park Corner.
For starter, I had the minted pea soup. What you start with, does not look like soup:

Your waiter then comes with individual soup boats (like sauce boats, but each one just contains the soup for one person) and then it looks like this:

Very colourful, but a triumph of style over hotness, as the resulting soup was only a 7 on the CHOF scale.

For main course, I chose the crusted beef. This was excellent, tasty, probably a 7.9 on the scale, but a miniscule serving, but we have to think of the meal as a whole, which did not leave me unsatisfied.

I think the picture speaks for itself. Desert and coffee with petit fours followed.

I should have made a note, but I think this was a mango mousse with exotic ice creams.

After the meal, I noticed that chefs were out in the Restaurants, and it turned out to be Heinz Beck himself with Heros de Agositnis, the executive chef at the restaurant. I could not resist having a photo taken.

It shows a little of the elegant Venetian styling, with the notable painting by Casson in the background.

I have to say that Apsley's always leave me with a feel good factor afterwards. Lunch from the fixed price menu with  (expensive) wine, water and coffee cost me £139. As to the hotness, well, it was fashionably the wrong side of 8.

Virgin Atlantic Lounge, Newark: poor cousin of LHR

25th April 2013
Whilst the Virgin Lounge in Heathrow is somewhere to linger, I cannot think of anywhere in Newark Airport that I would want to linger. The airport is continually being rebuilt, and the lounge had changed since my last visit 6 month previously. Having said that, they provide a supper for overnight flyers who want to go the sleep for the whole flight, which can be a useful thing if you have to get going the next morning.
The good surprise on this visit was a dish of prawn laksa, a spicy prawn and noodle soup which was served as a main course.

This hit the spot for me: tasty, spicy (surprisingly so for a pre-flight meal) and hot scoring an 8.5 on the scale. It is tricky eating a boiled egg with chopsticks, but necessity is the mother of invention. There was a side of sweet chillie sauce which I did not use, as it would have spoiled the base flavour. Well done Richard, this was a good one.