Carolien's travel blog!

Exploring the world one bite at a time

Page 10 of 41

Ajisen Ramen: “Not so great ramen”

When looking for a quick lunch at Fiumencino airport, I ended up in this ramen restaurant. Ramen is my favorite fast food, but the ramen here was slightly disappointing. Thee meat wasn’t tender and the noodles itself were a bit overcooked. Luckily the spicy broth was tasty. The spicy beef ramen filled the stomach, but that was about everything.

Ajisen Ramen, Aeroporto Leonardo Da Vinci, Terminal E, 00054, Fiumicino, Italy
+39 041 456 1111

Visited March 2017. You can find my review about Ajisen Ramen also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 3/5, service 2/5, food 2/5.

Pho Covent Garden: “Great Vietnamese street food”

This place is know for its Vietnamese noodle soups. When we went to Pho Covent Garden for a quick dinner on a Saturday evening and the place was packed. But since this is a fastfood joint, you’ll just have to wait for a moment till a place opens up.

The reason why this place is so popular is not hard to guess: the food is delicious, portions are big and you don’t pay much for a good meal. The Vietnamese noodle soup is served with some extras that you can add to your liking. Every table also has seasoning to make your soup as spicy or salty as you like.

Since this is a fastfood restaurant you won’t be in here for long. The music is kind of loud which hinders the conversation and you’ll be seated at shared tables. when I visited I got the feeling they were a bit understaffed. But for a 10 pound meal, who can complain about waiting a little longer for the bill?

Pho Covent Garden, 65A Long Acre, London WC2E 9JD, England
http://www.phocafe.co.uk/locations/covent-garden/
+44 20 3058 1695

Visited October 2016. You can find my review about Pho Covent Garden also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 5/5, service 3/5, food 5/5.

Lobos: “Great food, interesting location”

Really loved our visit to Lobos, meat and tapas. The restaurant is located under a railway bridge, which gives it a really special vibe. We did not have reservations for the evening and the place was packed, but the super friendly waiter assured us there would be opening up a table in about twenty minutes. So we ordered some excellent cava and waited at the bar.

Lobos has a really authentic feel to it, because most of the staff are Spanish speaking. Great for me, because I love practicing my Spanish. We had such a great time chatting with the bar keeper (who offered us a free piece of lovely jamón), that we were surprised our waiting time was over already.

We got al lovely booth for two persons under a barrel vault. We tried as many different tapas as we could. All tapas were great, but I have to give a special shout out to the herb crusted lamb: perfectly cooked and seasoned. Mouth watering! Only minor issue: the red wine was served a bit too warm. Perhaps they should invest in a storage facility to keep the wines at the right temperature.

Lobos, 14 Borough High Street, London SE1 9QG, England
http://lobostapas.co.uk/
+44 20 7407 5361

Visited October 2016. You can find my review about Lobos also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 4/5, service 5/5, food 5/5.

Oude Vismijn: “Dikke tegenvaller”

De Oude Vismijn is gelegen in een prachtig gerenoveerd historisch gebouw in het hartje van Gent. De locatie is echt schitterend, met via mooie, grote ramen uitzicht op de samenvloeiing van de Leie en de Lieve. Het hippe interieur heeft een mooie bar en in de zomer kan je buiten eten op het mooie terras.

Tot zover het goeie nieuws, helaas doet het eten en de bediening deze schitterende locatie geen eer aan. Wij aten hier met een groep van ongeveer 25 personen. Op voorhand hadden we doorgegeven wie van de aanwezigen de dagschotel dan wel de vegetarische pasta verkoos.

Voor zo’n grote groep zou je toch verwachten dat de bediening wat moeite zou doen. Niets was minder waar, helaas. Het begon al toen we water bestelden: in plaats van meteen genoeg water op tafel te zetten, moesten we de inhoud van vier halve liter flesjes verdelen over gans ons gezelschap. De flessen wijn wilde de serveerster die ons bediende dan weer per sé zelf uitschenken. Ze deed dit echter op zo’n bruuske manier dat we schrik hadden dat de glazen zouden breken. Ze zou het haarzelf en ons veel gemakkelijke gemaakt hebben door gewoon wat flessen wijn op tafel te zetten en regelmatig te komen informeren of er nog extra drank moest zijn. Nu werd elke vraag voor een bijkomend glas op een diepe zucht onthaald. Misschien had ze het lastig omdat ze er alleen voor stond, nochtans was het niet echt druk in de zaak.

De tomatensoep met warm brood die we als voorgerecht geserveerd kregen, waren ok. Helaas viel het hoofdgerecht dik tegen. De dag van ons bezoek was de dagschotel worst met zuurkool (dit was ons niet op voorhand gecommuniceerd). Er waren redelijk wat mensen in ons gezelschap die niet echt een fan van dat gerecht waren, maar het bleek werkelijk onmogelijk om de dagschotel om te ruilen voor een vegetarische pasta, ondanks het feit dat we hier graag voor wilden bij betalen. De worst was ok, maar de zuurkoolpap die daarbij geserveerd werd, vond ik echt vreselijk. Ook de vegetarische pasta bleek niet veel meer dan wat pasta met tomatensaus te zijn. Kaas bij de pasta, dat waren ze helemaal vergeten. Beide gerechten waren ook helemaal niet warm meer toen ze aan tafel gebracht werden. Echt een schande om zoiets voor te schotelen aan een groep die zo lang op voorhand gereserveerd heeft.

Bij het bestellen van de thee nam de serveerster niet eens de moeite om te vragen welke thee we wilden. Verse muntthee bleek bij nader inzien thee uit een zakje te zijn en de koffie verkeerd werd met een te korte lepel geserveerd, waardoor je de lepel met moeite uit de koffietas kon vissen.

Echt, deze locatie verdient zoveel beter. Een heel grote teleurstelling. De enige reden om dit restaurant twee sterren te geven, is de prachtige locatie.

Oude Vismijn, Sint-Veerleplein 5, Ghent 9000, Belgium
http://www.oudevismijn.be/
+32 9 223 20 00

Visited October 2016. You can find my review about Oude Vismijn also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 2/5, service 2/5, food 1/5.

Dogma Cocktails: “Superb cocktails, great atmosphere”

Great place in the heart of Antwerp to enjoy outstanding cocktails. Since our dinner ended early, we were lucky enough to be able to enjoy the cosy sofa’s in the cellar. A great place, only lit by candles. Between the four of us we tried seven different cocktails and I have to say: all of those were really excellent. Staff was very friendly, but somehow our orders weren’t put into the system, so when we asked for the bill, another waitress came to ask us what we had drank so she could make the bill.

Mind you, a Dogma cocktail is not cheap. We paid between 13 and 17 euro per cocktail. The mocktail costed 9,50 euro. Since the place is very nice and we stayed there talking for about two hours, we didn’t mind the price ticket.

Dogma Cocktails, Wijngaardstraat 5, Antwerp 2000, Belgium
http://www.dogmacocktails.be/home.html
Wijngaardstraat 5

Visited November 2016. You can find my review about Dogma Cocktails also on TripAdvisor.

Big Chill Bar: “Superb cocktails”

During our London trip we enjoyed some truly great cocktails in Bar Big Chill. The bar tender, a very chill guy from Melbourne, took great care in preparing us our drinks. I enjoyed the ‘gingerbread sour’ very much. Fingerlicking fantastic. The ‘big tea party’ my friend ordered was equally as good. The cocktails were excellent and we enjoyed sitting at the bar observing the waiters.

Bar Big Chill is a hip and trendy place with an industrial feel and a huge bar. Drinks have to be ordered at the bar. You can sit inside or enjoy the big terrace outside. A great place for a drink!

Big Chill Bar, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL, England
http://wearebigchill.com/bar/
+44 20 7392 9180

Visited October 2016. You can find my review about Big Chill Bar also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 4/5, service 4/5, food 4/5.

Petit Train de Bonifacio: “Easy way to get the the haute ville”

Easy and enjoyable way of getting to the haute ville of Bonifacio. If you’re not into climbing stairs, this is the ideal way to enjoy the beautiful views from the Bonifacio Citadel. The driver of this little tourist train gives you some information about the sites you’re passing by, but sound quality is bad.

Petit Train de Bonifacio, 10 rue General de Gaulle Port Bonifacio, 20169 Bonifacio, Corsica, France
http://www.autocars-massimi.com/petit-train-11-fr.html
+33 4 95 73 15 07

Visited July 2016. You can find my review about Petit Train de Bonifacio also on TripAdvisor.

Da Passano: “Great place for drinks!”

I only went here for drinks, so I can’t comment on the food.

Da Passano sure is a trendy place. When we stumbled in for after meal drinks, it was hard to find a table for two. The waitress offered us a place at the bar, which we kindly took. Seeing the waiters at work was truly impressive. Both of them worked very hard and were clearly a well oiled machine. We never had a dull moment observing all the work they were doing.

We asked for the cocktail of the day. The waiter proposed us a tequila sunrise. We didn’t say no to that. The cocktail was excellent with a generous serving of tequila. Really good. Afterwards I ordered me some muscat petillant and my boyfriend enjoyed a glass of cognac.

Would love to go back for drinks or dinner in the future.

Da Passano, 53 quai Jerome Comparetti, 20169 Bonifacio, Corsica, France
http://www.da-passano.com/
+33 4 95 28 10 90

Visited July 2016. You can find my review about Da Passano also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 4/5, service 5/5, food 4/5.

Easy Tempo: “Decent Italian food in the Brussels neighbourhood ‘de marollen’”

We made a reservation for a group of eight people and were offered two possibilities for seating. We preferred sitting nearby the large counter. The vibe this restaurant gives off is authentic Italian, but the service could be more attentive. For instance they forgot to fill our glasses. Since the wine bottle stood on the counter one of my table mates got up to fetch it. While she was pouring us the wine, the waiter came by and yanked the bottle out of her hands. Quite rude.

My spaghetti alle vongole was not bad, but by no means impressive. I counted only eleven clams and since those clams the reason to order this dish I was disappointed. Food was not expensive though. Drinks included we paid about 22 euro per person.

Easy Tempo, Rue Haute 146, Brussels 1000, Belgium
http://easytempo.be/?lang=nl
+32 2 513 54 40

Visited September 2016. You can find my review about Easy Tempo also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 4/5, service 3/5, food 3/5.

La Pergola: “Authentic Corsican food!”

To be honest, we never would have found this cute little restaurant if it weren’t for Tripadvisor. The restaurant has a really authentic feel to it which is reflected in the dishes served: honest Corsican cuisine.

We ate at a cute little table on the pergola which gives the restaurant its name. The waiter was very friendly and keen on explaining the dishes to us.

We couldn’t resist the three course menu for only 20 euro’s. For half a liter of wine we only paid 7 euro’s. As a starter I chose the tarte tomate chèvre. Very tasty. The rôti the veau was also good. The lovely crème brûlée was the perfect dessert to close off the meal.

I do have to say that the restaurant only serves red wine. The waiter explained that it was hard keeping the quality of white wine once the bottle was opened. I didn’t fully understand his explanation, but the red wine was ok. A good hous

La Pergola, quartier Sorba, 20170 Levie, Corsica, France
+33 4 95 78 41 62

Visited July 2016. You can find my review about La Pergola also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 5/5, service 5/5, food 4/5.

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