H and H Burgers, Strode Road, Clevedon (opposite Asda)

Had a Burger here a few years ago when it was located on Teignmouth Road, the Burger Bar has moved to Asda car park and is now conveniently located opposite the store and is a joint that always seems to attract a lot of trade, easy to see why...

Lovely friendly staff and owner, I had a Bacon sarnie, tasty thick Bacon and nice fresh quality bread, with a piping hot cup of tea for around three quid.

Proper fodder for the those on the road.

Food 5/5
Value 4/5
Service 5/5
Overall 4.5/5

Star Fish Bar, 10 Old Street, Clevedon

The Star Fish Bar opened it's doors something like around 18 months ago, initial early reviews back then were good so I gave it a go, I've been a regular ever since!

Great portions, consistently good food, we went for our usual Saturday night meal, portion of Chips (the portions are huge and one is enough for two), Cod, two Battered Sausages and Curry Sauce. As usual the Cod is excellent, fluffy quality meat, good batter, Chip portion huge, very rarely has the place disappointed me, and tonight was no exception, easily the best Chippy in the 'Don!

Food 5/5

Value 5/5

Service 4/5

Overall 5/5

KFC, Cribbs Causeway, Bristol

Friday night so what better than a visit to the faithful Colonel. A small queue of 2-3 people and just the one serving isn't a good start, nothing like a 10 minute wait to build up your appetite.

Went for my 'usual', 2 piece meal with Coke and gravy, chicken pieces weren't the biggest pieces but tasty as usual, hot portion of fries, gravy tasty as usual all washed down with a coke, a fiver well spent.

Food 4/5
Service 2/5
Value 4/5
Overall 4/5

McDonalds, Bath Road, Hardwick, Glos.

It's break time at work, couldn't be bothered to do a packed lunch....it's come to this....McDonalds. I'm going for the 'Big And Tasty' with Bacon special which I have to admit is a guilty pleasure, I take my place in the queue, only a couple of people in front, it's about 7:30pm, quite quiet....shouldn't take to long...........seriously, this place has to be the worst for service I can remember in some time, one person serving, I think, spotty despondent oik, wandering around aimlessly, I think I was finally served after a good 10 minutes!!

Thankfully the 'B and T' was indeed (slightly) Big but very tasty, so after filling my belly with grease and calories all was forgiven!!

Food 4/5
Service 0/5
Value 4/5
Overall 3/5

Opulentia, Queens Rd, Clevedon

Previously the rather disappointing Seven Burger Bar, I didn't realise it had been taken over and become a Pizza Parlour complete with authentic clay oven in the kitchen. Some friends had given it the thumbs up, so one Saturday evening we popped in for a takeaway pizza.

We went for the 12" Crispy Duck with Hosin sauce, cucumber, spring onion, Mozzarella for £9-49. Staff aren't the most cheerful, must have taken lessons from Seven, and our Pizza was in front of our noses in under 10 minutes. Took it home to eat, and just driving back it did smell nice, and thankfully it tasted just as good. Good sprinkling of tasty duck, nice pizza base, the large strips of cucumber I thought was a bit odd, took those off and just ate them as a side!

A very nice effort then, not cheap though, I still feel that nearly a tenner for an average sized pizza to takeaway is a bit steep, but the food was faultless.

(N.B Rather disappointing to see they only achieved a 2 star hygiene rating recently though)

Food 4/5
Value 3/5
Service 2/5
Overall 3.5/5

The Crab Apple Inn, Southern Way, Clevedon

First things first, the niceties. Ordered the Sausage and Mash with gravy which cost around a fiver or so, very tasty, piping hot, very nice.

Downsides, the staff are miserable as sin, especially the woman who served me, think she was the Landlady (!) face like a smacked backside, not even a hint of a smile, food took an age to turn up on a quiet miserable weekday, ho hum.

Good value grub, don't expect John Lewis levels of customer service though folks.

Food 4/5
Service 1/5
Value 4/5
Overall 3/5

Schwartz Brothers, Saw Close, Bath.

I used to come here quite regularly back in the late 80's early 90's so returning here was a right nostalgia trip. Burgers still as tasty as I can vaguely remember they were back in the day, opted for the Blue Cheese Burger, tasty and hot, could have done with more cheese in my opinion, but a nice post pint snack to warm me up.

Food 4/5
Service 3/5
Value 3/5
Overall 3.5/5

The Salthouse, Salthouse Road, Clevedon

Had the Roast Beef baguette, 'Roast Beef' is a slight exaggeration, processed slice supermarket meat. Came in an ok baguette, horseradish was advertised on the dish, probably half a tea spoon as I could hardly taste it.

Came with salad, very nice crunchy coleslaw, cucumber, a few sprogs of vine tomatoes, and the usual peppery lettuce that pubs like so much but I hate.

Acceptable but for six quid, nothing special.

Food 3/5
Service 4/5
Value 3/5
Overall 3/5

The Crown, All Saints Lane, Bristol.

The Crown's always been one of my favourite bars in Brizzle, you want Metal, you got it, but I've never eaten here so thought I'd give it a go one Bank Holiday Monday.

Good menu, lots of favourites, all at decent prices. I went for a good old Burger with Monterey Jack Cheese and bacon, also fries and a few onion rings came as standard. The Burger arrived...oh my Gawd, it's huge! Double Burger, thick nicely cooked pattys, lovely crispy fries and proper onion rings.

Quite delicious, and one of the best Burgers I've tasted, especially as it's not advertised as 'gourmet', and one I failed to finish so filling was it!!

Highly recommended.

Food 5/5
Value 5/5
Service 5/5
Overall 5/5

Banx Cafe Bar, Fleet Street, Torquay

Ordered the Black & Blue Burger, burger with blue cheese.

First the only negative, not the blue cheese I was expecting, very mild, but that's the only minus point, huge pile of gorgeous melted cheese on a delicious beef patty- nice bun, good texture, not dry and falling apart under the weight of the beast of a burger.
 Lovely crisp curly fries, coleslaw, all for £8, good service, though the place was dead on a Tuesday in May, a burger-tastic meal.

Food 4/5
Service 4/5
Value 5/5
Overall 4.5/5

Atomic Burger, Gloucester Road, Bristol

As many online reviews had pointed out, the décor is quirky, lots of movie and tv memorabilia adorn the walls and ceilings, though it doesn't look tacky.

Service was good, drinks served quickly (Thatchers Cider and Sam Adams Boston beer, yeah!) and food was in front of our noses less than 15 mins after ordering.

I had the 'Jake & Elwood' Burger, which was a beef patty with Bacon, Blue cheese and fried onions, came with a side of very tasty fries, I recommend the mayo they have with the condiments, went very nice with said fries.

My only complaint was there was very little blue cheese, the taste was quite subtle, I like in smothered, though that's just my own personal taste, other than that a very enjoyable lunch.

Food 4/5
Service 4/5
Value 3/5
Overall 4/5

McDonalds, W Morris St, Bath

My workmate wanted to pop in to get a coffee, just got a tip from a customer, feeling like a snack so ordered a Cheeseburger "deluxe" for just over 3 quid, never has the word deluxe been so misused.

 The burger was dry luke warm, not sure how long it was on the shelf for, and the bun actually stuck to the bottom of the box it was in, pathetic excuse for fast food, and apparently this store has a bad reputation for poor quality.

No, I'm not expecting a gastronaut experience, just something that is hot and at least slightly tasty.

Food 1/5
Value 1/5
Service 3/5
Overall 1/5

The Greyhound, Gloucester St, Stroud

Popped in for a bite to eat one miserable January day .Hoegarden on tap was a good start, pricey but worth it.

Food wise I opted for a New York style sarnie, nice white bread, Pastrami, American mustard and Emmental cheese with salad. The salad was pretty poor though, slightly dried up lettuce, two small slices of cucumber and tomato, the sandwich was hardly bursting with filling but was never the less still tasty.

My partner had a toasted mozzarella and ham sandwich which she said was very good, and filling.

The interior of the Pub though clean and modern is a bit dark, though the classic Victorian urinals were a pleasant (if that's the word) surprise.

The Wheelhouse Restaurant, 27 The Avenue, Minehead

 
Went here with evening with some friends for dinner, service was very good, very friendly, we had starters that included Prawns, Brie, Mushrooms, all very good.

For main I opted for Rump Steak (medium rare), looked nicely cooked, but trying to cut through it even with a sharp steak knife was bordering on the ridiculous at times, it wasn't tough, just had some thick strands of sinew fat running through it, really poor quality meat.

My partner had the Fillet and she couldn't praise it high enough, another had the Gammon, again faultless.I've seen another review criticizing the rump, the Restaurant is very nice, but please change your supplier for this cut of beef!!

(One other criticism I must mention were the chips were rather insubstantial, two many small crispy bits and not enough chunky ones)

Food 2/5
Value 2/5
Service 4/5
Overall 2.5/5

The Hain Line, Tregenna Place, St Ives

It's a Weatherspoons so if you've been to one recently you'll know what to expect on the menu.I opted for the Hot Dog and chips with a free pint of Stowford Press for five and a half quid, excellent value for money and a nice meal, nicely cooked chips, a BIG frankfurter in a crispy baguette with american style mustard-tasty.

My partner went for the chicken balti as it was 'Curry Night', she said the curry was very nice, it certainly smelt good, it came with rice, popadom, naan bread and mango chutney, again with a free pint.

Service was very good, a pleasant experience in a beautiful seaside town.

Food 4/5
Service 4/5
Value 5/5
Overall 4/5

Seven, Gourmet Burger House, Queens Road, Clevedon

It takes a brave man to open a 'Gourmet Burger' restaurant, off the beaten track (Queens Road) in a small town but that's just what someone did a month ago, and now I've finally got round to giving it a go.

There's two types of Burger on offer, the 'normal' menu, ranging from £1:25 for a basic burger, to £2:95 for a deluxe quarter pounder with Cheese, and the 'Gourmet' menu which start at £4:50 for a burger with just mayo and salad, and no chips, that's an extra quid!

I went for the Blue Cheese Melt, which as the name suggests comes with blue cheese, mayo and salad (mushrooms also but I didn't bother) The Burger looked and tasted good, good thickness well cooked, with some nice fries, that's where the plaudits end though. The Blue Cheese was almost non-existent, you could barely taste it, the salad comprised two pieces of tomato and a tiny bit of lettuce, no onions, and for £5:50 this really isn't great value.

The restaurant doesn't take cards (this is the 21st Century ffs!), once served you are pretty much ignored, and when we left there was barely a murmur of thanks, dreadful customer service.

Food 3/5
Service 1/5
Value 2/5
Overall 2/5

Mr Wu, 58 & 60 Shaftesbury Avenue, London,

£8:95 for an all you can eat buffet seemed too good to pass up as I strolled past this place one early Wednesday evening, the place looked busy and the food looked good from the outside.
 
Managed to get a table for two, waitress was quick and attentive, ordered some drinks which were with us in a matter of minutes, buffet obviously was self service so off I went.

Plenty to choose from be it beef, chicken, pork all lamb dishes, noodles, fruit, spicy wan-tan soup (lovely stuff) etc.

All piping hot and tasty, I wasn’t too keen on the prawns though, not the meatiest I’ve encountered, and more than ever a pain to peel.

The dishes were regularly replenished with hot fresh ingredients and the old stock discarded. The decor of the place is pretty uninspiring but for hot tasty Chinese food, and plenty of it you can’t go wrong.
(on reflection some of the plates could've done with a wipe down)

Food 4/5
Value 4.5/5
Service 4/5
Overall 4/5

The Mitre, High Street, Oxford

A new year, a new City visited and time for the first Burger of the year.The Mitre Pub is owned by the Beefeater chain, a nice olde Pub in the heart of Oxford, it looked inviting, and on a cold Winter's day I didn't need much persuading.

I went for the obligatory Cheese and Bacon Burger with fries.The meal arrived about 10 minutes later piping hot and looking not bad at all.Good thick, nicely cooked piece of meat, chunky chips, side salad and mayo and relish dips, all tasted good.

The only minus point was the cheese (a slice of Emmental) wasn't melted at all, just plonked on top of the Burger with the Bacon as an after thought.Other than that small criticism, two thumbs up and pretty tasty.

Food 4/5
Service 4/5
Value 4/5
Overall 4/5

The Montague Pyke, 105-107 Charing Cross Road, London

Popped in for a bite to eat one weekday evening, standard Wetherspoons fayre, I opted for the 'Gourmet Burger' with a free pint thrown in for just under £8.Well that's a bargain in anyone's book but even more so in the heart of the Big Smoke where a pint is over £4 on it's own.

But the proof of the pudding (or Burger) is in the eating.

Well I've previously had this meal In Bournemouth, and very nice it was too, and this was just as good. Nicely cooked meaty slice of Cow, topped with Bacon, Stilton and Shropshire Blue & spring onion sauce, two dips (Relish, Mayo) plus some nice chunky chips and 'real' Onion Rings to accompany it.

The only negative was the bun was a bit limp and pretty much fell apart when picked up, it could have done with toasting, but other than that a tasty meal at a bargain price.

Food 4/5
Service 4/5
Value 5/5
Overall 4/5

The Pilot Boat, Bridge Street, Lyme Regis

Popped in one wet Sunday afternoon for something to eat, thankfully they served food all day, something most of the other pubs in down didn't!

I chose the Ploughmans lunch which was called some other name which I don't recall and cost about £7, be warned Lyme Regis does not do cheap eats, one pub (The Cobb Inn) was charging £8 for a basic burger and chips!

The lunch was a fair size though most of the plate was taken up by the wedge of brown bread, pity we were supplied with the usual underwhelming portion of hard butter (a favourite trait of the UK pub/restaurant).The ploughmans usual, Cheddar and Stilton cheese, pickled onions, coleslaw, fruit chutney (very tasty too) and a rather small portion of salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato) came with the lunch.

Not a bad meal but nothing special.

Food 3.5/5
Service 4/5
Value 3/5
Overall 3.5/5