Veggie Bites

Hmmmm, I am not sure how to start this review. Martin and I have walked past this place a couple of times and not gone in, but when a friend asked us if we wanted to have dinner with him, we thought we would try it – as it is something different and in the interests of keeping veggie bites from getting boring, I wanted to try something different. I believe we probably should have kept walking again! We could have walked a very long way for dinner and it would have been quicker than eating here! I should have known when it took them a while before they acknowledged us and directed us to a table (and to be honest, they only just made that cut – I was close to giving up just as they came over!). So we sat down, with our unopened bottle of wine and were given two menu’s between three of us. When someone finally took our order, we ordered some mixed breads, and then I asked about one of the pasta dishes on the menu as it wasn’t clear that it was vegetarian. The waitress simply looked at the description on the menu and read it out to me. I was still uncertain and asked her to clarify that it did not contain bacon (I can’t remember the name of the dish – it was the longest one on the menu and contained sun-dried tomatoes and chilli). She assured me it didn’t, but I was rather worried until it finally arrived. Martin ordered pesto and our friend had risotto – chicken I think. And we had a Greek salad to share. We also had to ask them to open our bottle of wine for us! It took a while for our bread to arrive, so long in fact that I was a little concerned that our mains would arrive before we had finished the bread – but I really didn’t need to worry about that! Since we had been there for so long, we decided that another bottle of wine was a must and our friend ducked off across the street to the bottle shop – he came back with a screw top bottle which was extremely good thinking on his part! Of course, our mains arrived almost as soon as he left! Thank goodness none of us ordered pizza as they took even longer. The table next to us, who ordered before us, received their pizza quite a while after our mains arrived. And we all watched as a number of people came in and ordered take away pizza and got them before the eat-in pizzas arrived. To be fair, we did also notice the poor guy who had been waiting for his take away for almost an hour – you can cook your own pizza (including the base) in that amount of time! But then again, as we were leaving, we noticed a family of three where the parents had finished their pasta and the plates were cleared and their child was still waiting on her pizza. That is quite poor really! Some people had told me that this place was slow – but that is ridiculous! We finished and decided not to bother with dessert, as it was fairly late already! So we got up and our friend went over to pay – this too was a slow process. So slow, in fact, that our friend realised the next day that the waitress had not returned his credit card after he paid – luckily they still had it when he went back! Initially I attributed the slowness to the young appearance of the wait staff – I thought ‘good on them for having a go – they’ll improve over time’. But then I saw the chef and the manager, both of whom were clearly older and realised that it must be bad management on their part and since then I have had a quick look on google and found other people have had very similar experiences. All that being said, the food was ok – not great and certainly not worth the wait. Café Pronto – I don’t think so!

I have heard lots and lots about Rama’s – pretty much all of it has been good, so when we had to be southside for a reason around dinner time, we decided that we should try it. Rama’s is billed as Fiji Indian, which makes it pretty much Indian with a dash of Fijian influence. When we arrived (on a non-pay-day Thursday night!!) the place was packed and we were not particularly hopeful of getting a table as even those outside were full. However, we were squeezed in on a table that had a 7:15 booking (we were there at 6:45) on the promise that if they could cook it fast, we could eat it fast – we had to be somewhere else at 7:30 anyway! So, we ordered at the counter as the table was reset for two and the food arrived really, really quickly! Which is a little worrying as that probably meant that a lot of it was pre-prepared, and that some of didn’t have enough time to absorb the lovely flavours. To start with we had the pumpkin and coconut roti parcels. This was amazing – a lovely mushed up pumpkin and coconut mixture wrapped in a roti bread. I think I am going to have to invent a few of these types of dishes because this is the second one that I have had that I really, really liked. They would make great little appetiser type things. For our mains we ordered Vegetable Bombay, Panir Masala and Dahl, along with steamed rice and a couple of garlic parathas. When we ordered, we were asked how we wanted the dished cooked – mild, medium or hot. Now this is one of my pet hates in restaurants. I want the chef to cook it as it should be and not fiddle with the heat of the dish. If something is meant to be cooked hot then cook it hot and put a warning on the menu. If it is meant to be mild, then cook it mild! So, my answer was however the chef thinks it should be and then we were asked if we liked it spicy and would we like the dishes medium, so I gave up and said yes. The dahl arrived first with a huge bowl of saffron rice (which surprised us since we thought we ordered steamed rice). It was a little while before the other dishes came out, which is a bit disappointing, but it could have been because they were trying to hurry our meal. Of the three dishes, I think the Panir Masala was my favourite (apart from the peas) – it had a beautiful flavour and the panir did not fall apart. The dahl was nicely spiced, but wasn’t particularly special – just good dahl. The vegetables Bombay was disappointing (for more reasons than just more peas!) – and this is possibly where a longer cooking time could have enhanced the flavours a little. The spices/flavours seemed a little harsh. Overall, it was pretty good food. I am amazed that we were in and out in approximately 30 minutes, and also amazed that the number of other people in the restaurant, and the owner said that it is like that every night! If I was down that way again, then I think I would eat there again, however, I don’t think I would be able to justify bypassing my favourite Indian restaurant, which is much closer to home, to go here.

We have eaten here a few times, but there only seems to be one other review! I kind of got a bit over it and then didn’t want to eat here for a while. Martin was incredibly surprised when I finally agreed to get some take away from here this time! We had cauliflower fritters, veggie curry, pumpkin stew and spicy lentils. Along with rice, bread and a side of cheese and spinach. It was all good, as usual – we didn’t really order anything different. I have to admit I was sick of the pumpkin stew half way through and gave what was left on my plate to Martin. I think this is an occasional visit type restaurant rather than a regular one!

This was a birthday lunch for a friend, and I really like this place – however, they are a little short on vegetarian options, with only one item on the menu. The option this time was gnocchi with mushrooms, gorgonzola and rosemary oil. Not being a fan of gorgonzola, I asked them to substitute it with something else and was offered parmesan – which sounded good to me. A short time later I was told that they didn’t have any parmesan and asked what else would I prefer. I told them that the chef could decide what would go best as long as it wasn’t gorgonzola. When it finally arrived it had small pieces of brie in it which actually went really nicely. I am often concerned when I first see a plate of gnocchi as I always think it is small, but then I remember how filling it is and my concerns disappear! This gnocchi was delicious. It was cooked to perfection and the mushrooms and brie complimented each other perfectly, and the rosemary oil was a fabulous touch. Most of my companions seemed happy with their choices, with only one person being disappointed with what they were eating. After our mains, there were coffees all around, except for me who had hot chocolate. Again, it was on the expensive side, and it wouldn’t be somewhere to go if you are on a bit of a budget, but the food is definitely nice, I just wish there was more than one vegetarian option on the menu!