REVIEW: The Ridgacre Table Table Restaurant (New Gas Street, West Bromwich, England)

I had the pleasure of doing a review at The Ridgacre restaurant in West Bromwich on 9th July 2011 for our evening meal. This is not a sponsored review, however the meal was paid for by Table Table for the review. The opinions expressed below are our honest opinions.

I went along with my husband, Paul, our 8 year old son, David and my 9 year old sister, Latisha for our evening meal at 9.30pm on our way home to Liverpool from Pandamonium in the Park in Northampton and The Ridgacre in West Bromwich was on our way home.

We were promptly greeted and after a short delay, we were seated at a table and told to have a look at the menu and decided what drinks we would like.

The hubby and I went for diet Pepsi, whilst David chose a Capri Sun and Latisha chose milk. The waiter was very approachable and attentive and our drinks were served quickly. The waiter told us to just let him know as soon as we were ready to order.

The tables were nice and clean and the seating was comfortable. We got a table right next to the window which was lovely too. The lighting was very relaxing and ambient and the decor was very nice. The restaurant was very tidy and clean too.

Paul and I shared a doughball platter (cheese, chilli and garlic & herb) with all the dips (guacamole, olive oil with balsamic vinegar, tomato salsa and garlic butter), while David chose nachos covered in melted cheese with tomato salsa and mayonnaise dips and Latisha chose potato wedges (without the melted cheese as she does not like it) with tomato salsa and mayonnaise dips. All of our starters were served promptly and were hot and cooked just right. I very much enjoyed the garlic & herb doughballs best, although they were all nice. They were especially delicious dipped in the tomato salsa which was yummy! I wasn't very keen on the olive oil with balsamic vinegar dip, but maybe it's just an acquired taste - it tasted like olives to me and I really don't like olives. Paul enjoyed the doughballs too and he liked all of the dips. David enjoyed his nachos and gobbled them all up - he was a big fan of the tomato salsa too! Latisha enjoyed her wedges and gobbled those all up too and she also enjoyed the tomato salsa - the salsa gets a big thumbs up from us all! We all very much enjoyed the starters and the service was fantastic too. Here are some photo's of the kids tucking into their starters...

There were so many delicious sounding choices on the menu for the main course, that it was really quite difficult to choose what we wanted - it was definitely a great selection and I'd definitely say there was something for everyone to choose from.

For my main, I chose the chicken makhani curry which was served with basmati rice, naan bread and a side of butternut squash, spinach and lentil curry. This was cooked to perfection and, as a curry lover, I was not disappointed by this meal in the slightest. It was served quickly and was nice and hot. Everything was cooked just right - it was a very delicious meal overall. The chicken was succulent and the curry was deliciously spicy.

Paul chose the Quorn chilli (as he is a vegetarian) which was served with basmati rice, sour cream, guacamole and nachos. He says it was well cooked, and had a nice flavour to it. It was served quickly and was nice and hot as it should be.

David chose the chicken dinner from the kids menu which was half a grilled chicken breast served with roast potatoes, carrots, a Yorkshire pudding, garden peas and gravy. David chose not to have mash with his as he doesn't like mash. He enjoyed his food, he complained the chicken was a little overdone, but I think he was just being fussy as always! He seemed to enjoy all of his food. He had lots of fun seeing the mini jug with the gravy in - this amused him no end! It doesn't take much! It was served quickly and was nice and hot and the perfect size meal for a child, I think.

Latisha also chose the chicken dinner from the kids menu. Same as above, but Latisha did have the mash but didn't have the Yorkshire pudding! Again, she very much enjoyed hers too and didn't have any complaints. She tucked in and enjoyed it. She seemed to enjoy her food too. Just like David, the thing that seemed to make her happiest was the mini jug - she found it really fun. Children really are mad! Again, it was served quickly, hot and the perfect size for a kid.

The staff were all very attentive and polite and there was always someone around should you need them. Service was quick and friendly and with a smile - perfect.

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REVIEW: Stag & Rainbow Beefeater Grill Resturant (10 Queens Drive, Liverpool, England)

I was asked to review the new breakfast deal from the restaurant and I went along with my husband, our 8 year old son, David, and my 9 year old sister, Latisha at 9am on 2nd July 2011. This is not a sponsored review, however the meal was paid for by Beefeater Grill for the review. The opinions expressed below are our honest opinions.

Side view of the restaurant.

The breakfast is great value at £7.99 per person and up to 2 children (aged 15 and under) eat FREE with each paying adult. There is a great choice of food, and best of all is, you can eat and drink as much as you like!

There is a great selection to choose from as you can see:
Cooked breakfast selection
Premium pork sausages
Vegetarian sausages
Back bacon
Eggs (choice of scrambled, boiled, fried, poached or a plain 2 egg omelette)
Button mushrooms
Tomatoes
Heinz baked beans

Continental breakfast selection
Kellogg's cereals (soya milk available on request)
Granola creations (granola cereal with your choice of yoghurt, dried fruit and fresh fruit salad toppings)
Porridge
Bread (white or malted wheat)
Croissants
Crumpets
Fresh fruit salad
Mixed berry compote
Yeo Valley organic yoghurts
Muffins

Drinks
Costa coffee
Twinings teas (everyday, decaffeinated, lemon & ginger, peppermint, blackcurrant, ginseng & vanilla, camomile and green tea)
Chilled fruit juices (orange, apple and pomegranate)

There is also a Grab & Go Breakfast option for £2.95 getting you a croissant and a Costa coffee or tea.

When we entered the restaurant, we were promptly greeted by Claire and shown to our table. She was very nice and polite and was very helpful and approachable.

The restaurant was very neat and tidy, very clean and well looked after. The seating was very comfortable and plenty of space between the tables, so you didn't end up clashing chairs with the people sitting next to you like in some other places.

Everything was well set out - the buffet and everything. All the food was readily available, as were the drinks - there was nothing from the menu that was unavailable. All the cutlery and crockery was very clean, as you would expect. The food area was set out spaciously so it was easy for everyone to get their food and drinks.

My choice of breakfast was bacon, sausages, a fried egg, baked beans, a slice of toast and some mushrooms. The bacon and sausages were cooked perfectly - not underdone or burnt - just perfect really.  Same for everything else - it was really delicious and I was very impressed. My only regret is that I didn't have space for some more! I also enjoyed some delicious coffee - which, unlike some places I have had a coffee, it was actually hot as it should be. I also had a delicious chocolate muffin which was delightfully moist and tasty.

My husband, Paul, initially had some fried and scrambled eggs, beans, mushrooms and toast all of which he enjoyed. As he is vegetarian, he ordered some veggie sausages (as they are not readily available) which were cooked and brought to him quickly and he thought these were very nice. He followed that up by fruit salad and a muffin which he enjoyed. He had some coffee, milk and pomegranate juice as drinks - all of which he liked - the cold drinks were actually cold and the hot drinks were always hot.

My son, David, went for some bacon, egg, sausages, tomatoes to start with and he enjoyed it all very much. He also tried the muffins which he loved! He had a glass of milk, a glass of apple juice and a cup of tea (kids drink a lot!) too.

My sister, Latisha, had some bacon and sausages - she's a very fussy eater! She also tried the muffins and some apple & grapes which she liked. She had a  couple of glasses of milk, a glass of apple juice and a cup of tea.

Latisha & David enjoying their drinks after their meal.

I had the opportunity to talk to the manager, Jackie (hope I've spelt her name correctly) and she was very nice, approachable and attentive. She was really lovely. She bought the kids some balloons and a colouring book and some crayons which made them very happy. She even gave them a little bag to put some stuff to take home in. She was very down to earth and you could see that she interacted with her staff well too - it was a very nice environment to be in.

I had a brief opportunity to meet the general manager, Paul too (only briefly as he had been in a meeting) and he was also very approachable and down to earth.

I definitely got the impression that the management and staff worked together well and I think they run their establishment very well as a team.

There was always someone around if you wanted to request something else which was good - if you wanted to order eggs cooked in a different way, or grilled tomatoes or the veggie sausages - there was always someone around to get you what you needed.

Front view of the restaurant.

If you are ever in Liverpool, I would recommend you visit Stag & Rainbow for a meal as you will not regret it.

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