There is cushioned seating along one of the walls and the rest of the dining area is made up of dark wooden tables and chairs. The bar and counter area are at the back end of the restaurant.

A really great starter was the Mirza. This was a combination of smoked aubergine, garlic and tomatoes. The smoky flavour came through but was not too heavy. It was served with some warm flat bread.

The halloumi cheese were grilled slices and they were served with rocket leaves, olives and walnuts. The halloumi had been cooked just right.

Siaim had quite a varied menu with some of it having Turkish influences and also some Mediterranean items. Originally, I was thinking of having a fish dish. When we asked the waitress if the fish was fresh she told us that it wasn’t fresh in that day. I really appreciated her honesty.

On that note, I opted for the Risotto Verdi. A huge dish of hearty creamy risotto was served! It had plenty of green beans, peas, baby spinach, courgettes and asparagus. A good dish to have on this cold wintery evening!

My friend chose the Persian sea bass. This fillet of fish had been cooked in wine, garlic and parsley. It was served with some herby rice and salad. It was an enjoyable and tasty main dish!

As for drinks, Siaim does a range of hot and cold drinks including freshly squeezed juices and smoothies. The fresh mint tea that we had was served in small white teapots. It was nice that the staff refilled the pots with hot water during our meal, when we asked them.

The staff were really friendly and made us feel very relaxed during our meal. Even though we ended up being the last ones in the restaurant, and it was closing time, they did not come and ask us to leave. They let us take our time and did not hurry us. It was only when we noticed that they were starting to tidy up for the night, that we said that we wouldn’t have minded being told that they were going to be closing shortly!

Siaim was a good restaurant and it got busier during the evening time. It is a place that I’m sure that we will return to when we want a nice relaxed meal out!

Siaim, 59 Ballards Lane, Finchley Central, London, N3 1XP

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

From the outside, ASK looked inviting with its spacious restaurant area, white and green theme and it looked like it had had a makeover. It also had some outdoor seating.

As we were pretty hungry, we felt the need for a starter. The Bruschetta Classica was two thin slices of crisp bread, topped with chopped tomatoes, onions and basil. It had quite a tang to it, as if there was too much vinegar in the dressing. Also the dressing had made the bread slightly softer than it should have been.

While we were still eating the bruschetta, the waitress came over and said that our main dishes were ready. This was strange as normally the main dishes are not served until diners have finished their starters. As we were seated right next to the open kitchen, we could see our pizza and pasta dishes. We told the waitress that we were not ready for the main meal. All we could see was our food by the kitchen, just sitting there getting cold for a while.

When the food was served to us, it was warm. So we’re not sure if it had been placed back in the oven. As we were sharing the food, the waitress gave us side plates. Some of our plates were dirty and it was hard to get the attention of the waitress so that we could get them changed.

Even when we were given new plates, some of them weren’t clean. We had to get them changed yet again. We were quickly losing confidence with ASK.

The Caprina pizza was an oval shaped pizza served on a wooden board. The pizza base tasted slightly doughy as if it was undercooked. It had a strange taste to it. The pizza was topped with rocket, tomatoes, mozzarella and oregano. We asked for it not to have the goat’s cheese and the olive tapenade.

For the pasta, the Spaghetti al Pomodoro was chosen. Instead of spaghetti, we had it made with penne pasta. The dish was topped with buffalo mozzarella. We were given parmesan but the waitress just piled it all onto one place instead of grating it all over the pasta. The pasta in the tomato and garlic sauce was actually quite tasty!

Rustic chips were ordered to accompany our meal. But when our food was served, the waitress told us that we had not ordered the chips. So we had to wait for them to be cooked. As for the chips being rustic, they were far from it. The chips were more like oven chips and some were undercooked.

Dessert was the best part of the meal. The Profiteroles al Cioccolato filled with ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce did not disappoint. It was served in a silver ice cream sundae like bowl.

ASK is not a place that I would speak highly of. Disappointing food, bad service and an unclean restaurant do not make for a nice evening dinner out. The waitress was consistently unhelpful and she told us that she was very busy with serving other diners. But whenever we looked, the restaurant was not that busy. It looked like the waitress kept wandering from one place to another, unnecessarily.  Hence, when we required her attention, we were waiting quite a while.

This ASK restaurant seems to have taken for granted that it will constantly be busy due to its location in a leisure park. It feels that they don’t care about their customers, or the quality of their food or the level of service. They know that they will continue to get customers, no matter how bad their restaurant is.

A disappointing restaurant and it would definitely be better to go to any of the other eateries in the leisure park next time. At least that way, a bad experience at ASK could be avoided.

ASK, Great North Leisure Park, Chaplin Square, North Finchley, London, N12 0GL

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

Papa Del’s has a very natural feel to it. The tables are uneven so that slate placemats are used to keep the plates level! It was nice to have such a dining area with all the wooden surroundings! The painted walls and wall lights gave a soft ambiance!

The food was cooked fresh in the open kitchen and so we were waiting a short while for it! The Vegetariana pizza had a thin crispy base and the tomato sauce was tasty. It was topped with tomato, mozzarella, sweetcorn, onions, peppers and mushrooms. We had an additional topping of aubergine! The vegetables were all cooked perfectly!

The Penne Arrabiata was a big portion! The pasta was topped with a sauce of garlic, tomato, olives and chilli! The sauce had a good flavour and it definitely had a spicy kick to it!

The staff were friendly, but there was a slight language barrier going on. A few times when we asked the staff questions, they just said that they did not understand! Luckily, we had the patience to try and explain what we meant in several different ways!

Papa Del’s does a good evening deal between 9pm and 11pm! It is also open in the morning for breakfast!

Papa Del’s, 347 Archway Road, London, N6 5AA

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars