It has been a while since the Rate My Bistro team have been out together to review a place. Normally, we may just head to one of our many favourite places. This time, fish and chips was the food of choice for a late lunch. As we happened to be in Angel, it seemed like a good a time as any to try out Sea Fish!

Sea Fish has a sort of seaside feel to it! There is the white brushed furniture and the sea blue colours with their feature wall. The dining area is spacious and feels light, airy and clean. The decor with its framed pictures and lighting makes the restaurant feel modern. There is also an outdoor dining area at the back of the restaurant.

When you enter Sea Fish, there is the take away counter if you didn’t want to eat in. The regular fish and chips was ordered. The food was brought to us quickly and not long after we had ordered. The staff told us that the fish had just come out of the fryer. The soft succulent fish was encased in the crispy batter.

The chips were served in a bowl with some tartare sauce on the side. Soft, fluffy, crispy chips together with the fish made for a simple but classic delicious meal. Usually I have mushy peas with fish and chips, but this time even without the peas, the dish was yummy. The table also had the normal condiments of tomato ketchup, salad cream, salt and vinegar.

The staff at Sea Fish were really friendly and so welcoming. They gave us great personal service. When we mentioned that we were going to be sharing the meal, they automatically brought us an extra plate when the food was served.

There seems to be a spate of trendy fish and chip shops popping up at the moment. But here at Rate My Bistro, we think that we have stumbled across yet another gem of a place with Sea Fish. It is a classic, unpretentious restaurant with a relaxed dining atmosphere. Sea Fish is highly recommended and I am sure we will return time and time again!

Sea Fish, 205 Upper Street, Angel, London, N1 1RQ

Rating:

Having a big get together with friends is always harder than one thinks it would be! Everyone has their own schedules and weekends get booked up fairly fast. After fifteen years of first meeting each other, and now with some of the friends having children in tow, we managed it. Hence a day out at the Cotswold Wildlife Park was suggested; something to entertain us big kids as well as the young ones!

Most of the morning was spent wondering around outdoors looking at the array of animals and the pretty gardens. As it was getting to lunchtime, the temperature started to drop and the hunger started to kick in. It was definitely time to head indoors to get warm and to re-energise.

The Oak Tree Restaurant is in the grand Manor House building. It has more of the feel of a canteen than a restaurant but it does serve its purpose. There is hot food that is made fresh on site using local produce. All of the food is behind the glass counters and is served rather than it being self service. There is also a range of cold sandwiches, cakes and hot drinks on offer.

As it had been a bit chilly outside, I was in the need of something hearty and comforting. The soup of the day, Chicken and Sweetcorn, sounded perfect. It was supposed to come with a bread roll but I had a craving for the mashed potato. The staff let me have a side of mashed potato instead of the bread.

Big chunks of chicken made up the soup and together with the sweetcorn, it was really tasty. The creamy mashed potato did not disappoint either. The soup with the mashed potato was right up my street!

The other hot food that was on offer was burgers, sausages, chicken nuggets, jacket potatoes. The meals are available in children’s portions and they also have baby bowl portions too.

The staff were friendly and even though the cafe was busy, they kept clearing up the tables and tried to show us tables that were going to be free soon. The best way is to take a seat as soon as you see a table empty, otherwise you may be waiting a short while to get a table. The only problem that we found was that the queue for the hot food was really long and it moved fairly slowly. It would be better if there were more staff behind the hot food counter.

The Oak Tree Restaurant is nothing fancy but it does do good food. The gluten free chocolate cakes that my friends had went down a treat too and they were of a good portion size. All fed and watered, we were ready to do some more exploring!

This was a wonderful day spent with good friends and their families! It just shows that some friendships are made to last, no matter how many years go by!

The Oak Tree Restaurant, Cotswold Wildlife Park, Bradwell Grove, Burford, Oxfordshire, OX18 4JP

Rating:

It had been a while since my friend and I had been out for Thai food and we were kind of missing it. So we took it for a sign when we were supposed to go out for Greek food and the restaurant could not take us as they were fully booked for a private party.

Taste of Siam has three parts: one is the supermarket, second is the restaurant and the third is the noodle bar cafe. We were pleased that we chose the lovely restaurant. It seemed like a nicer setting than the informal cafe.  The food is cooked fresh and the quality of ingredients is high. As my friend pointed out, we should have expected this, seen as Taste of Siam’s shop next door has good produce.

It felt like a cold day and after my friend said that she was having a soup starter, I also decided to go for a warming soup! It is not very often that I have Thai soup but everytime I have it, it is always so tasty.

The Tom Yum Hed was a hot and sour mushroom soup. Lots of mushrooms bobbing in the hot flavoursome broth and garnished with coriander. The Tom Yum Kung soup was equally satisfying. This was a spicy prawn soup with lemongrass, chilli and vegetables.

A comforting curry and rice was chosen for the main meal. The menu doesn’t specify what type of curry the vegetarian Kang Ped Jay is. The staff told us that they can make it as a red or green curry.

Crispy tofu, cauliflower, broccoli, baby corn, mange tout and carrots in a creamy coconut sauce made up the curry. It was delicious and very moreish. All of the dishes had a lot of garnish including lime leaves, lemon grass, ginger and coriander. This really gave them the fresh flavour.

All of the food was made mild just as requested. To drink, Taste of Siam has an extensive menu including a whole range of fresh juices. But for me, it had to be Jasmine Tea. This was served by the pot.

Taste of Siam is a fantastic Thai restaurant, even though its dining area is slightly small. The staff were really lovely, polite and friendly. The restaurant was busy all through the evening and also a lot of people were coming in to have orders to take home.

Taste of Siam, 41-47 Camden High Street, London, NW1 7JH

Rating: